The Things I'd do
by Mar98
Summary: After Sam leaves for Stanford, things begin to fall apart for Dean. Laney tries her best to patch up the wounds. She begins to have her doubts if the Winchester Family is even a family anymore. Sequel to It's Never Fate. Moves on from Pre-series.
1. Part 1: Broken   The Roadhouse, Nebraska

Delaney gets a call late one night from a broken Dean. Sam is gone, off at College becoming the perfect law student and boyfriend. Delaney finds herself trying to pull the boys together and fix the Winchester Family. Or what's left of it. Aside from that, she finds she's having trouble fixing her own problems and handling the search for her dad. Can she help the boys remember they're family? Will she find her dad? And can she do it all by herself?

Chapter One: Broken

Nebraska; The Roadhouse

I had never fully understood the concept of broken. I'd felt broken countless times. That had been inevitable. I'd seen broken. The vase that I had knocked down on my way upstairs in Bobby's comforting home, playing tag with a seven year-old Sam, _that_ had been broken. The beer bottle that John had thrown aside in a drunken stupor, _that _had been broken. The arm Sam had broken when running around a little too fast and crazily, not giving any regard to where he was placing his feet. The window I had thrown a baseball through, accidentally. The hairclip that Dean had given me, the Impala stereo, that one swing set at Bobby's, the many many cars in Bobby's salvage yard. The point was, I'd seen broken. I had thought I knew it, because I had sure felt it before. I hadn't, though. I didn't know the concept of broken until I saw the look in Dean Winchester's eyes the night I arrived in his motel room. I hadn't known broken until I heard the very tones in Dean's voice when the phone rang at the Roadhouse, late one night. _That_ was broken.

The night was warm and humid even with the air conditioning at full blast. The Roadhouse had its usual bustle of hunters and the random normal person or two. I was a little impressed at how long the two humans were lasting, even as the fearful look began to creep into their eyes. I recognized the moves they were about to make as they ran for it. It was a shame. They had been doing so well.

Jo headed for the couples table, a small smirk coming in to play although she kept it toned down. She had her usual jeans and t-shirt.

I watched as the couple shakily handed her a wad of cash and stood up to leave. I saw Jo mumble something, smiling, as they exited. She cleared the table chuckling.

Ellen had me bartending as she talked with a pair of old looking hunters in one corner of the Roadhouse. It looked like business so I didn't complain.

As I handed a shot of tequila to a hunter going through his computer, Jo squeezed behind the bar next to me and began to prepare another drink.

"Almost peed their pants?" I asked as I grabbed a rag from behind the counter and began to wipe off the spilled water and dirt.

"Come on, they had more guts than that. I'd say close, though." Jo smiled. "They got past the sour-pinched faces. They were full on terrified towards the end."

"It's kind of mean of you to let them in even when you know you'll be causing them all sorts of distress and a heart attack or two. They looked like they were stuck in some sort of torture chamber. We could've been some crazy satanic worshippers for all they knew. The torture devices most of these hunters have…"

"It was hilarious. And anyway don't act like such a damn saint, I saw you laughing."

"Hey, I was just enjoying what I had the good fortune of seeing." I smiled, smacking her in the head as she nudged me with her shoulder.

Jo and I had become really close over the years. When I had first arrived at their doorstep like a damn orphan from one of those bad old English movies, they had taken me in. Bobby had pulled some strings and I had a home or something close enough to it. I liked The Roadhouse, it was a bar and a famous hang out for hunters. A place of weapons, fistfights, alcohol, sweaty PMSing hunters that you just wanted to give a good kick below the belt. It wasn't the ideal home, not even close. But I wasn't the average normal girl and I was sure there wasn't one of those for miles.

Jo and I hadn't been sure what to make of the other. When I'd seen her, she'd look like the traditional normal girl, with the blonde hair and thin figure. She'd seemed a little soft to me until I'd seen her shoot a rifle. And until I'd seen her punch a hunter in the face when he'd tried to grab her ass. I had learned not to underestimate her after that.

After the whole scoping each other out thing, we'd moved onto the whole ignoring each other. She really hadn't seemed worth the time to get as a friend and as much as I knew it was messed up to treat someone like they didn't exist, I hadn't actually been in a friendly mood. I thought I didn't need any hunter buddies and the only thing I had thought of was not pissing them off and making them kick me out of their place. I needed their food and their roof. That was it.

I didn't talk to her or Ellen other than necessary and after a few days, I knew Ellen had called in Jo to try to get to know me. I'd closed the door on her face.

I hadn't been in the mood for anything besides working and finding my dad. I had known that they knew about my circumstance and they had obviously put that into consideration after that night. They left me alone after and I appreciated it.

I hadn't really thought I'd be lonely because for some strange reason I had expected the dumb-assess to call me. I'd have thought a call per day or something around there but they only called around once a month. And they'd even stopped that a couple of years ago.

I didn't have the right to complain about it because I knew they were busy. I was busy as well. And even if I missed them like hell, I understand that maybe they were also too tired to call me after a hunt.

It got lonely. And I guess Jo felt that because right when I felt I'd have to talk to my stupid pillow just to get something out of my mouth, she gave it another try. And we took off from there.

Ellen was another different story. After Jo and I began to talk, I still had no interest for Ellen. I didn't like her for a long time and she sure hadn't seemed to enjoy the sight of me. Bobby had said she was one of the best hunters and women he knew, that she was about the most understanding and sympathetic woman he'd met over the long rocky road of his life. After the first few days I assumed he'd confused her with someone else.

She corrected me, she shut me up when I swore, when I smart-assed her. She put me to work straight away and that hadn't been what I had minded at first, it was the job she gave me that I had minded. I was in charge of cleaning up the place for a long time until our relationship got better, but that period seemed like a long tiring scary place to go back to. Hunters were really some disgusting pigs.

And behind all of the annoyance and frustration I felt when confronted with the prospect of Ellen, I began to realize she shouldn't be someone I didn't like. I began to admire the way she spoke to and treated hunters in the bar that didn't follow her rules. And I noticed that every hunter that visited her bar respected her and didn't try any type of shit with her. She was someone nobody dared to mess with. Me included.

All in all, I had found a home in the Roadhouse. In between all the smelly crazy hunters and the huge amount of alcohol. Figures.

"Hey, can you bring out the new bottle of good whisky that I have in the back. Looks like Twiddle-Dum and Twiddle-Dee plan on staying for awhile. Maybe if I get them drunk they can pass out before they decide to really stay here. I could drag them out the back and leave them in a ditch." Ellen leaned over the bar, saying it all quietly.

"That's nice, Ellen. Such hospitality you have." I rolled my eyes and headed for the back.

"You wouldn't say the same thing if you were in my shoes, girl," she called.

I smiled softly as I entered the back room where Ellen kept extra chairs and supplies. In one corner she had a special cabinet wall of alcohol that she kept for herself and friends. She always kept the best alcohol for herself and I didn't blame her.

I opened the highest glass door and reached farther in for the large bottle of whisky she wanted. As soon as I closed it my phone began to buzz in my front pocket. I put the bottle down and struggled to get my phone out.

I put it to my ear, "Hello?"

"Delaney, how have you been?"

I froze, a million shades of emotions engulfing me. I gripped my phone tightly, repeating the greeting in my head a few times trying to make sure it was who I thought it was.

He hadn't called me in years. I hadn't seen him or heard from him since the night I said goodbye. I knew there hadn't been any reason for not calling one another, checking in but I'd never really had the guts to pick up the phone and dial his number. I trusted him enough to call me when it got hard and I'd have to deal with him then. And apparently he had because he didn't sound good at all. He sounded tired and lonely but most of all, he sounded hurt.

I'd learned to recognize the hurt in his voice a long time ago but I was still a little surprised I could read his voice just as perfectly as I could back then.

"Uhh… wh-Dean? Is that you?" I stuttered aware of how surprised and caught off guard I sounded.

"Yeah… It's me. Long time no see." He chuckled dryly.

"Are you okay? You don't sound…" I trailed off, remembering how he hated it when anyone asked him that. I'd seen him practically start throwing punches over it.

"I'm livin'" I could distinctly hear the clank of a glass being put down and the opening of a bottle. It didn't take me much to realize he was drinking.

"It sounds like barely so. Listen, I'm done with my shift and I have a day or two off. More if I ask. Where are you?" I reached for a pad of paper by the cabinet and dug in my front pocket for my pen.

It was a quick decision and maybe I wasn't thinking it out well, but I knew it was the right one.

"I'm fine," he drawled.

"No you're not. I'll be there as soon as I can just tell me where you are." I clicked the pen and waited for his response.

The other side went quiet for so long I thought he had hung up.

"Don't, Delaney. Just… just stay where you are. Just stay as far away from me as you can get. It's what everyone should do."

I listened silently, scared at how bad a state he sounded in. What was going on?

I made my voice sound as calm and neutral as I could muster at the moment and said, "I'll be there in a few hours. Don't go anywhere."

I was about to hang up when I heard him speak.

"Thanks."

"Yeah…umm… Just sit tight, take a nap or watch T.V,'kay?"

I hung up and immediately headed out to ask for a four or three day break. Ellen was sure to love that.

…

"Hey, Bobby. How's everything?"

There was a man I could count on. He called me to check how I was, to lecture me, just to mess with me. He was a man I could trust anything with and he never let me down. Sometimes we annoyed the hell out of one another but it was never like I could stop seeing him.

I tried to sound carefree and relaxed as I said this but I could feel the urgency and anxiety filing me up. I pushed the car Bobby had given me years ago, to its limits. My Chevelle was one of the only things I'd kept for awhile, unlike the many layers of jackets and clothes I had had to throw away. Or the piles of phones I'd had to burn or step on for fear I'd be tracked. It wasn't unknown of for a hunter to be wanted by the police. Hell, it was guaranteed.

All in all, my car was one of the things I could count on, something that would always be there. Unlike Dean, I had no extreme protectiveness over my car and although I did take good care of it (more because of force of habit) I didn't have an unusually weird love attachment to it. But God, did I love my car.

"Slow down, girl. It's dark out and I don't want to have to scrounge for your body pieces in the dark." Bobby scolded calmly.

"You don't happen to know where Dean is, do you?" I accelerated even more, waiting for Bobby's protest. We were over the phone so I wouldn't' have to deal with him until we saw each other. And when we did, I usually followed his orders and didn't usually argue so I took advantage of the moments I got to make him a little red in the face, although I never really would get to see it.

"Yeah… I do actually." I could hear he was tired. I could've bet a few bucks that he'd been up most of the night already; researching on something someone else had called him for.

I smiled slightly once he'd said yes. Bobby was never one to admit keeping tabs on anyone. Well, unless it was a demon or witch or something. But when I needed space or John for that matter, he never admitted he'd been making sure we were okay. He left you alone, don't get me wrong. But he kept an eye on you.

"I thought you and John hadn't talked in years. You never exactly told me why but I do try to _not_ be an inquisitive bitch all the time."

"None of your dang business, Delaney. Do you want to know where Dean is or not?"

"Yes, sir."

"Dean's in Oklahoma. Tulsa. I don't know where he's staying so you're going to have to ask around for information. You always have been good at that anyway."

"Thanks. I'll call you in a few hours."

"Wait. Why you looking for Dean? Have the years finally come to bite you in the ass?"

"Oh, you wish! Nobody's touching this ass." I caught sight of a neon sign proclaiming a gas station was coming up down the street and made note of it. I needed some gas. I was running out quick.

"Delaney, is something wrong with that boy?"

I remained silent for a few seconds but spoke up quick before Bobby could yell. "I don't know. From what I heard he sounded bad. He sounded … drunk."

"Hunters are drunks. What's so urgent about that?"

"He sounded upset. Real upset. Something happened, Bobby. I don't know what but it shook him and it's scaring me."

"Well…" he sighed. "Call me once you figure it out. And I'm serious."

I burst into a smile even though he couldn't possibly see me, "I will. Scout's honor."

"Quit smiling."

…

I wasn't entirely sure how I got from Nebraska to Oklahoma in one night. It was all just a big long blur filled with the noises of my car's engine and the occasional honks and screams of a scared citizen telling me to slow the hell down. Like I was gonna listen to them.

By the time I figured out what motel Dean was staying at (after many calls from in my car in the parking lot of a thrift store) I was drop dead tired. It took me all I could to ask what room the 6'2 green-eyed spiked hair guy was staying at.

"Thank you." I smiled tiredly, taking my fake I.D card from the chubby rosy-cheeked lady behind the check in counter. I quickly stuck it in my pocket and made my way back outside to look for Dean's room. It seemed so weird to me that he had just called me. Not weird in the sense that I wasn't used to doing stuff for him, I was. It seemed weird to me and deadly serious that he had asked for my help or had at least tried. I had no idea what could possibly be wrong with him and Dean was never one to let something easily get to him. And that was what convinced me, even before I entered his room that he was as far from okay that anyone could get.

I dragged my feet down the long pathway of doors and motel rooms, searching closely for the room titled 17 and when I found it, I tried the door. It was locked. I didn't want to make Dean get up from his bed, considering it was practically morning anyway so I dropped to one knee and removed a bobby pin from my hair.

I fiddled with the door knob and the lock for a few seconds then let the door swing open. I casually stood and stuck the pin back in my hair and entered the room, softly closing the door behind me.

It was dark, the only light came from the T.V set by the farthest window. I tiptoed my way past the small table and sofa to the bed, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Dean." I whispered, reaching out over the surface of the bed, just to find it smooth and empty. I squinted in the darkness, looking for a hunched over form by the sofa or in the small kitchenette. I stumbled my way to the motel door and turned on the light.

The room was empty.

I sighed, thoughts beginning to run through my mind. Maybe he had regretted calling me. Right when I was about to just lie down for a much needed nap, I heard a crash and a few thumps from the bathroom.

I rushed to it, pulling out my gun just in case.

I almost slipped as I reached the doorway and barely managed to grab onto the doorframe as I caught sight of a half-naked unconscious Dean lying on the wet bathroom floor. He was wet and bleeding with just a towel covering the lower half of his body. There was a large gaping cut on his chest and a similar one on his head. He looked bruised and battered and slowly, faintly as if he was coming around.

I scrambled to him, panicking, slipping on the water pouring from the tub. I dropped my gun, reaching for the water tap and turning it off.

"Dean. Hey." I dragged him to a sitting position, leaning him against the sink. He was really heavy and I was already struggling to keep his slack weight upright.

I pushed the wet hair off of his forehead and closely examined the gash. The blood was still flowing so I reached for the hand towel hanging over the sink and used it to dab at his cut. It looked like it was going to need stitches.

He mumbled something and I stopped to stare at him. His eyes were slowly beginning to open all the way and I waited for his eyes to focus on just one thing.

It took him awhile to realize it was me and when he did he gave me one of his easy-going smiles which meant he was drunk, "Delaney… you… have sumthin' on your chin…"

I let out a huge breath I didn't know I was holding when it was clear he was fine. I couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of the goofy smile I loved and had missed.

"Yeah. Come on. Let's get you patched up and in bed."

I struggled to get him to his feet but when I did, I carefully led him out of the bathroom and onto his bed. I rummaged through his duffle until I found his first aid kit and then proceeded to look for a pair of boxers. When I found them, I handed them and a bottle of tequila, purely for the pain to come. I turned away as he put them on.

When he was done I applied alcohol to his head. He hissed and tried to squirm out of the way but I slapped him on the arm, "Lay still, will ya? You big baby."

When I was satisfied his noggin was disinfected I pulled the sewing needle out from the kit. Ugh, I had always hated sewing people up. It was just so unnatural. The needle in the skin, attached to a piece of thread that was supposed to hold you together. Great plan, doctors. At least I wasn't squeamish and had a stomach of steel. After many years of practice.

I prepared it then made him sit up. "Okay, I got the needle. Now I'm gonna-"

"You don't have to narrate the whole thing, Dr. Seuss. Just get it over with. I'm a man." He drawled, giving me a half-annoyed stare.

"Well, then."

He hissed a little as I began then slowly went silent. When I was done with his forehead I proceeded to his chest. Forty five minutes later I was done and as I placed the stuff aside and turned back to him, realized he was asleep. I wasn't sure if that was such a good idea with him having hit his head and all but it looked like he deserved the rest.

I covered him one of the motel blankets and watched as his breathing relaxed. God, what was going on with him?

I moaned as I made my tired legs move to Dean's duffel. He wouldn't mind if I changed into one of his shirts. And even if he did, I didn't care because I was wet and sleepy and tired and if I didn't get a good sleep that night, tomorrow I would be ready to bite anyone.

Sure that he was asleep I stripped to my bra and underwear. I pulled one of his plain white t-shirts over my head and dropped on the sofa.

It seemed, even after all the years that inevitably seemed to pass without us seeing each other, I still knew how to take care of the cocky bastard. I had thought that to be my job for a long time.

I was worried. I was scared.

I had never seen Dean is such a bad state as this, and trust me, I had seen him in many. I had seen him bleeding, choking, yelling, angry, laughing, and crippled. I knew a lot of sides of Dean Winchester and this was one I wasn't familiar with.

He looked tired and frustrated, but most of all he looked hurt. He sounded hurt too. And not because he was physically hurt, that was only part of it.

And as I waited for some sleepiness to hit me, I noticed something. Something that should have come to me a while ago. There was no Sam or John in the motel room. There was only one duffel. And to make sure Sam hadn't just left with John for the time being, I sat up and looked towards where Dean's stuff was. It was only his stuff. The shock of him calling me and finally being able to see him for the first time in years had clouded me.

Where was his brother? Where was Sam?

Songs for this chapter:

Broken by Seether and Amy Lee

* * *

><p><strong><em>Eeeepp! I'm back! <em>**

**_I'm so excited! Are you guys so excited?_**

**_Okay, okay... breathe. :P_**

**_I know it was only a few days but I had been working on the sequel meanwhile I retyped the ending of the first part. And you have no idea how much I struggled to get the beginning just right! I literally wrote the beginning nine times! I was frustrated like hell at some point but I got it!_**

**_I have a few things I want to say. Or write. Or get across. Whatever._**

**_First, I would like to thank all of my reviewers and readers from It's Never Fate. Just know that I try my best to satisfy you guys and my need for literature and writing. :P Seriously, I appreciate you guys._**

**_Secondly, this does start with Dean being away from Sam after he left for Stanford but I promise it won't be for long. Delaney is definitely older now, at the age of twenty-two. She's a solo hunter now and since this story follows her more than the boys, you will pretty much only be able to see Dean in the type of broken state I mentioned above... two or three times before the first part of the sequel is over and the boys are reunited. _**

**_Thirdly, Delaney does also get to see and speak to Sam in the first part, meanwhile he is in Stanford. And... she does get to meet Jessica. :D_**

**_Fourthly, There will be hunts. And lots and lots! Waaayy more than the two or three in It's Never Fate(sorry)! I have barely written eleven chapters and I already have two! Eeeep! And... if not's douchey me saying this... they're pretty gangsta! I felt like such a good writer and hunter. I did a lot of research and planning. :D That doesn't only mean the hunts on the show. I've been thinking about it and she will see the boys alot but there will be events and hunts besides that.  
>Fifthly, how Delaney got her Sky Blue 369 SS Chevelle will be explained and a teensy spolier... I will go back to Delaney's first solo hunt.<em>**

**_Sixthly(God, so many numbers. I totally got carried away), I am really happy. (I know, so random). I really am because I am very confident the sequel is going to be so much better than It's Never Fate. If I think about it, It's Never Fate wasn't as good as I would've wanted it to be because it was my first thought-out story(and not that thought-out either. That's what I would've changed) and I was still having trouble handling it and figuring out the real concept and the real story. I thank you guys for sticking with my mistakes and my frustrating lack of thinking things out._**

**_I really do think the sequel is going to be sooo much better. And I can't wait for you guys to read it. _**

**_Oh! And I reread my old stuff and I realized, to my horror, Delaney kind of came across as a Mary-Sue. A borderline Mary-Sue. I even took a test and I have been working super hard on her and making her more interesting and one of the most important things about a character, the thing that makes them who they are, is their flaws. Their weaknesses. My beta taught me that. :P You guys will get to know Laney better. _**

**_Thanks to Kinthinia for betaing and being honest with me. She was the one that made me realize where I was going wrong but being gentle enough to remind me it was okay to do so. She has helped me develop in writing so much and I don't know what I'd do without her. Thanks, Kinthinia. :P_**

**_Boy, I really did get carried away. :P_**

**_Love,_**

**_Mar98_**


	2. Bloody: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Delaney gets a call late one night from a broken Dean. Sam is gone, off at College becoming the perfect law student and boyfriend. Delaney finds herself trying to pull the boys together and fix the Winchester Family. Or what's left of it. Aside from that, she finds she's having trouble fixing her own problems and handling the search for her dad. Can she help the boys remember they're family? Will she find her dad? And can she do it all by herself?

Chapter 2: Bloody

Tulsa, Oklahoma Dean's motel room

"Oh, I feel like crap!"

Delaney smiled amused as Dean's voice trailed from the motel room to the bathroom. She finished brushing her teeth and stepped out of the restroom still in Dean's shirt.

"Rise and shine, buttercup!"

"Ugh, don't shout! So… you… you weren't a dream, right?"

"Nice." She rolled her eyes and began to put on her jeans from the day before. Dean noticed this and his eyes went wide.

"Did I- did we…"

"What? Oh, like I would let you in my pants." She smiled brightly, buckling her belt and slipping on her boots.

Dean nodded shakily, trying to remember the events from the night before. He didn't remember much besides getting in a bar fight where the other stupid son-of-a-bitch had pulled a knife and some chick helping him off of the bathroom floor.

So as he examined the extremely changed, now beautiful, Delaney standing at the foot of his bed, it hit him. It hit him that the girl he hadn't seen in years and that he had missed like crazy was in his motel room safe and sound. The relief that swept through him was numbing as he slowly got out of the bed. He forced his legs to move. They moved slowly but as he neared her they sped up.

She'd changed a lot during the years. Her face had matured, she'd lost the little remaining baby fat she'd had the last time he'd seen her. Her hair looked longer as well, it was past her shoulders this time but he knew she'd cut it several times. It would've been so much longer if she hadn't.

She still didn't wear much make-up because she didn't need to. Her skin was clear and it sure looked silky smooth. She looked more tan than how she'd been before, but her skin was still fair. Her eyes were the one things that didn't change. They were still the same dark brown color that held no light. But that were still full of life.

Delaney watched the change in him curiously and almost moved back when he approached her.

He got her in a tight hug painful hug and Delaney choked, "Dean?" He didn't answer only grateful he wasn't alone for the time being.

"Hey." Her voice softened, the worry seeping back into her eyes. She placed a hand on his bare back, "You okay?"

Delaney didn't feel uncomfortable with the prospect of Dean being in only his boxer shorts. But it didn't mean she didn't want him to put something on. She was used to half-naked men. There was always that one drunk person at Ellen's bar who got a little too excited.

Dean had known the hug would only be able to make him feel better for a short moment but when it was over he was left feeling just as alone and hurt.

"Uhmm…" he cleared his throat, letting go of her. "Yeah."

Delaney kept an eye on him, her face clearly showing her worry. Dean caught this and tried to smile his usual cocky sure-of-himself smile but it wasn't as convincing as it usually was.

He sighed, "Don't give me those, 'watching Delaney eyes'. They've always creeped the hell out of me. They're like china doll eyes. And anyway I'm fine."

"You didn't seem fine last night. Why are you alone? Where's Sam?"

The question struck Dean hard. He didn't know. He'd never thought the day would come when he didn't know where Sam was. If he had been facing Delaney she would have been able to see the broken look that came over his face. It was a look he hadn't worn in years and that he had hoped he wouldn't ever have to again.

He cleared his throat and pulled the shirt that had been lying on the floor over his head. He slipped his jeans on and sat down on the bed to pull on his boots.

Delaney waited for his answer, slowly pulling her hair into a messy bun.

"He's gone."

Delaney wasn't sure she had heard right, "What?"

Dean hated having to repeat it, "He's gone. Left."

"Why? I mean… w-where did he go?" Delaney urged. "Is he okay?"

"Yes he's fine! He's just peachy." Dean snapped, standing up and heading for the bathroom. Delaney watched him walk away, her eyes wide and clueless.

She followed him, "He left? Just like that? W-what happened?"

"He just left, okay? He decided he wanted to be Jimmy Normal! And dad- he just let him go."

Delaney didn't speak and Dean just continued to wash his face. He fumbled for the blue towel next to the sink and used it to dry his face.

Delaney thought "shocked" was an understatement for how she felt. The thought of Sam leaving his brother was one she wouldn't have bet on for anything. It would have been an instantaneous loss.

She felt Dean was holding something back. She hoped he was holding something back. Because for Sam to do something like that... she wouldn't be able to take it. The thought of him abandoning his family...

Neither spoke for a long time. Delaney, well because she wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't believe it. "Sam… Sam would never… something must've happen-"

"What? Something must've happened to convince him to go?" Dean snapped turning to face her. "No. This is what Sam's wanted for a long time and we were too busy to realize he was planning on acting on it."

Delaney stood at the door silently, watching as Dean stayed bent over the sink. She watched as he closed his eyes and tried to breathe deeply, like his life depended on it.

She wanted to run to his side, to hold him, to make him feel better. But she knew that Sam was so much more a bigger piece of him than she could ever understand. A part or whole she could never fill. And Dean wasn't one for hugs.

"W-when?" She swallowed.

"Almost… close to a year. Delaney… I don't even know if he's…" Dean closed his eyes tightly, falling silent.

"A year? A whole year? And you're just telling me now! You haven't called him?"

"No. He was the one that left and you should have seen him." Dean shook his head, pulling back and standing up straight with a bitter smile on his face. "He left like the hounds were snappin at his heels."

"Well then what are you waiting for, Dean? Call your brother," she said.

"Don't talk to me like that… not you." He gave her such a broken-hearted look she wasn't sure what to say after it so she just remained silent.

When she had still been with them, before she had left, they had had the strongest deepest bond she had ever seen. Yeah, sure, maybe she hadn't seen that many but she hadn't been dumb enough to not see what was in front of her. What the brothers had.

She'd known for a long time that without Sam, Dean just wasn't Dean.

Dean turned to her, trying to harden his expression. "He was the one that left. I'm not gonna call the damn kid. If he wants to see his family again he can call."

"Do you really mean that? He's your brother, Dean! You can't be the one to shut him out! You practically raised him! Hell, you _did_ raise him!"

"Exactly! I raised the kid! And he up and left me!" Dean slammed the cheap motel soap bottle into the sink.

"I'm sure that's not it. I'm sure you don't know all of it." Delaney pleaded, watching as he slowly ran his hands through his hair.

He turned to her when she finished," You don't know, Laney. You've been gone for a hell of a lot of time and Sam's changed. It turns out… it turns out he doesn't need us. And if that's really the ball he's pitchin', I'm not calling him. Not this time."

Delaney furrowed her brow in worry and disbelief. Dean couldn't be acting how he was. Sam couldn't just have left his brother. They'd been stuck by the hip for years and she had seen that they couldn't be separated for long without getting anxious.

Dean was the one person that would watch out for Sam more than for himself, the one person that could keep him safe.

Delaney spoke, "You're gonna talk to him some time."

"We'll see."

The ringing of a phone interrupted them. Delaney kept a close eye on him, even as he turned away to check his pockets.

"It's not mine."

Delaney removed her cell phone from her back pocket and answered, "Hello?"

"_How is he?"_

"Well, I wouldn't say soaring, Bobby."

"_Well, what's goin on with the boy?_"

Delaney waited until she was outside of the restroom and by the window farthest to it. She opened the blinds a small fraction to look outside. By the look of the many cars and people walking around, it was sometime around noon. She was still sleepy and still tired but she knew that now, with the situation going on, a few hours of sleep was as good as it was gonna get.

"Well…"She struggled to find the right words. Bobby wasn't going to be happy about it. It wasn't that she was scared, although Bobby was worthy of her caution and fear. She was scared Bobby would pop a blood vessel or hold his breath for too long, suppressing the onslaught of dirty words and curses. "Sam's gone. He left. I'm surprised you hadn't heard about it considering all the Harriet the Spy's you got all over the damn country. Hey, maybe even world."

"_You find this a joking matter? Where the hell is Sam?_" Bobby demanded and Delaney could just hear the blood vessel beginning to overfill.

"No, it's not a joking matter," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't know, Bobby. But… Dean's not gonna call him. He hasn't since he left. I don't think he's called anyone. He didn't tell me before and it turns out Sam's been gone for nearly a year A year, Bobby! He didn't call you, did he?"

"_No. The boy deals with everything by himself. Surprised he hasn't gone raving mad by now._"

"God, why didn't he call me? I could've-"

"_What? Held him as he cried?_"

"Bobby." Delaney said, surprised.

"_I mean, we both know Dean more than anyone. We know he wouldn't have let you hold him or try to talk some sense into him. The next step is ganking as many evil sons-a-bitches he can get his hands on. In some ways, that boy is a spitting image of his daddy._"

"He's not going after Sam, though! He's just going to let him go. When has he ever done that, huh? Usually he can put aside the anger enough to get Sam back home, for the baby's own good if any. This time… this time he's just not doing… anything."

"_Well, where did the boy go?_"

"To college."

Bobby went silent on the other end. Delaney turned to the bathroom, only to find the door had been closed. She sighed.

Suddenly, she heard shuffling and talking on the other end of the line and she waited attentively. The talking got louder but not distinct enough so she could pick out words.

"Bobby?"

"_Laney, I'll call you back later. Meanwhile, you take care of Dean._"

"I will."

She let the phone drop from her ear and held it loosely in her hand as she pressed her forehead against the cool smooth surface of the room window.

Man, what was going on?

Sam was gone, leaving Dean like some weird guy version of a heart-broken girl. John was nowhere to be found, and she was sure ready to give him a good kick below the belt. Dean was alone and struggling with the choice Sam made to leave and John wasn't even there to get his son through it?

Delaney knew they weren't particularly keen on sharing but they should have the sense that when someone you cared about was hurt, no matter the damn reason or no matter if you were both grown men, you stayed to let the person know that you're there and that you always would be. If they couldn't cry or talk they could at least get drunk together.

And Sam. Oh, Sam. He had shared his views on what life he wished he had. Delaney had even shared as well but she had never known he would act on it. Was he really as naïve to believe it would all work out? She knew it wouldn't. They'd been raised as hunters, learned as hunters, it was what they were. It was impossible to think they could be anything else. They could try but that didn't make anything permanent.

She wanted something else. She did. She wanted to get a job, not have to worry about what could get her the next day or if she would die saving someone. She understood that Sam wanted something more, not to just be someone that hustled and lied and that was wanted. But, she knew that no matter how bad or how much you wanted something sometimes, it wasn't always the best thing for anyone. Sometimes the only reason you wanted something was because you didn't have it. Because you never had the choice on whether you wanted it and because it had never been given to you.

And when push came to shove, she'd stay being a hunter. She had a responsibility to the people that didn't know. As much as she didn't want it, she could save people, make people's lives better and if that meant hers sucked so be it. She couldn't live knowing she'd turned her back on helpless people.

But God, how she didn't want it. It wasn't fair.

"So… how have you been?"

Delaney turned away from the window and ran a hand over her face. "Good."

Dean nodded, taking a seat on the only bed. "That's good. Have you… you know… found your dad?"

"No. I'm getting close. I think I gave up a long time ago on finding him alive, though. All I want to do is find him. That's it." Delaney sighed, taking a seat next to him. "I'm sorry for butting in like that. I just-"

"Don't apologize for who you are." Dean smirked than shook his head. "It's alright. Just… uh… forget it."

"So, what's here? Besides one of your many one night stands." Delaney yawned and let herself fall back on his bed, getting tangled in between all of the blankets when she struggled to find a comfortable position.

"Werewolf is my best bet. Mauled body of a twenty-three year old. Moon cycles fit. Heart was removed. Pretty safe to say it's the big bad wolf." Dean shrugged.

"'kay. Then let's make some hot dogs." Delaney sat up and jumped to her feet.

"Whoa, whoa! This is my hunt. You can go back to Bobby. This isn't even close to safe." Dean stood up and stared at her figure.

"There's two of us, Dean. This'll be a piece of cake. And anyway, I already said I'm in so I'm in. And you can't make me change my mind." She put her hands on her slender hips and neared him. She stared straight up into his eyes and gave him her biggest smile.

"That's hilarious. You parade into my motel room with your one hundred twenty pounds, 5'5 ass of sarcasm and perkiness and you think you own the joint. That's something." Dean smiled.

"Yeah well, I'm a ray of sunshine. And if you want to get a girl to sleep with you, don't bring up their weight. You'll get them angry and they'll start talking crap about how your butt is too big for a white guy." Delaney walked off to the motel door and before she stepped out, Dean called her back.

"Delaney, I really think you should go home. I'm not in by best… flow right now and if you get hurt…" Dean trailed off, leaving the rest to her.

"Tough 'cause I'm not going anywhere. I get hurt all the time on my own, when I'm just trying to get something off the top shelf. I can take care of myself and you… you have a professional career of taking care of anyone else but you." Delaney paused and made sure her next words expressed how serious she was about all of it, "I'm not leaving you alone. Not now. I may have been gone for years but I'm here now and will be until you get better.

"I'm not dying you know." Dean shook his head.

"No. But you're hurting and you're too stubborn to admit it or say it out loud." Delaney answered.

"Can we just… can you forget about it, okay?"

Delaney took a while to nod but when she did Dean just proceeded to sit on the sofa and watch some T.V. She left to retrieve her stuff from her Chevelle and hopefully, make a call.

She crossed the parking lot quickly, taking no time in trying to seem relaxed and nonchalant. When she reached the sky blue SS Chevelle 396 she quickly opened the driver's seat and slid in.

She turned the air conditioning and radio on and began to rummage through her bag. She had four things she always carried with her, in her car. Her big duffel of clothes and shoes. Her other duffel of books and files and phones. All of her researching stuff and the fake IDs and papers Ash and Bobby had made for her. In her smallest bag, she kept her personal things and her toiletries.

Her clothes duffel she stuck in the back of the car, so if someone pulled her over and decided to look through her stuff, it wouldn't be suspiciously empty. Her research duffle she kept at the foot of the passenger's seat where she could reach it easily. And her stash of weapons and all things supernatural killing, she kept in a secret slide-out compartment behind the front seat. She still wasn't sure how Bobby had managed to make sure a large slide-out car drawer on a seat that didn't look like it could be that thick. But Bobby had his ways.

She kept her car clean, only eating in it when she had to. She kept one or two small plastic bags of Goldfish for when she got hungry but besides that, her car was clear. She'd added a little something here end there over the years. She'd hung the ring that Dean had given her, right alongside her mother's wedding ring, on an old chain she had found in her mother's wooden box. It had been her father's. She'd hung that chain from the rearview mirror. Three things from three people she loved.

The earrings Sam had given to her as a gift, she was content with wearing. And Bobby, well Bobby had given her the car. She could still remember the excitement she had felt, after a year of not seeing the boys and having left them, Bobby had made her genuinely smile.

She had been cleaning out his garage, or doing the best she could to make it look less like a dump. Bobby had been gone running an errand a few towns over and Delany had teased he'd found himself a woman.

When he drove into the salvage yard, with the sky blue, shining, 396 SS Chevelle Delaney couldn't help but notice the way the sun hit it and the way it flowed so easily. She'd never been big on cars, but she'd done a little here and there, so when she saw that Chevelle, she just had a feeling it was supposed to be hers.

She had gotten up from her kneeling position by the many piles of junk and had removed her gloves. She had waited until Bobby got out of the car.

"Look what I bought. Didn't even cost me much either. Harry's daughter, you remember her?" Bobby had played with the keys to the car and approached her.

"How could I forget? Spoiled bitch. Thank God Harry never came over again after that. I'd have to punch her in the face again. It's not like I would mind but still…" Delaney had muttered, kicking a pile of old useless books to the side. One thing about Bobby was, he had books everywhere. In the kitchen, his study, the living room, his room, his garage and maybe sometimes even in the bathroom.

"That was a funny sight. All you had to do was punch her one and she was out like a light." Bobby chuckled.

Delaney had approached the car and had run an admiring hand over the smooth seemingly new hood. "And Harry sold you this one?" She raised a thin dark eyebrow at him. "He even gave you a discount, didn't he?"

"Yep."

"How'd you do that? I'd have thought he'd only look at you dirty after what I did."

"I had to lie a bit. I told him you went to a Ladies' correctional center after I put my foot down. Sold me the car right away."

"You skeevy bastard. Why would he sell this baby?"

"His daughter wanted a mustang. Huh."

"Again, spoiled bitch. And dumb. How's that girl gonna make it in the world when she lets a car like this go? God, it's beautiful, Bobby. You scored this time."

"Yeah. When I saw it, I just knew I had to buy it for your dumbass."

Delaney had instantly stopped admiring the car and had turned to Bobby. "Really?"

"Really,"he had answered.

Delaney had hugged him and thanked him so many times by the end of the day that Bobby was sick of the two words. But, he had been a little more at peace after that. She had fussed over the car, making her a little better after her goodbye with the boys.

She had been happy.

And as she sat in her car, debating whether she should press the call button and hear Sam's voice on the other line, she tried to think it over more fully and whether it would be a good thing. She wanted to talk to him, not only because of what she needed to say to him about Dean but also because she missed him and needed to know if he was okay.

She would leave him alone because she knew he wouldn't be too happy to hear from her, not after she said what she had to say. And because, secretly, she wasn't sure if she was that mad at him for leaving, for having the courage to go after what he wanted. It was what she had always wanted to do.

A small part of her was proud. Proud that her Sammy had found a way out, a way out that most hunters had wanted but that very few had found.

And a small part of her, a very small doubtful part, wished that they never did have the means to drag Sam back in, into hunting. That little piece wished that they never would have the nerve to go after him and demand that he go back. That he could become a doctor or a lawyer or a dentist. That he could get married and be happy. And forget all about her. All about the supernatural.

She wished he could live the life she wouldn't get to. Jo's life, Dean's life, Bobby's life, John's life.

She just hoped it wouldn't end like everything always did. Bloody.

Like she felt it would.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Hello!<br>Okay, I'm glad to see that the first chapter took off well and thank you to everyone who alerted, Favorited, and reviewed. Hugs to all of you!_**

**_Hope you like the chapter and I hope it wasn't boring for you guys but the story will take off soon. Yay! :)_**

**_Please let me know how you like this chapter and anything you would like me to fix. _**

**_Take Care._**

**_~Mar98 _**


	3. Holding it Together: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Chapter 3: Holding it together

Tulsa, Oklahoma Dean's motel room

"A day off?" Dean raised his eyebrows, his hazel eyes becoming more visible He had finished taking a shower, dressed in cleaner and non-used clothes. He hadn't looked shabby before but the shower had done him some good. He looked more alive.

Delaney had reentered the motel room, without bringing back anything that big and essential. She had a feeling she wasn't going to stay long before Dean made her leave for good. In moments like those he preferred to suck it up alone and she didn't want him to fight with her yet, like he would if he saw her stuff. She needed to think her side of the argument more thoroughly.

She'd closed the door behind her with her foot, her hands occupied with two bottles of Gatorade and a large bag of Goldfish snacks stuck under her armpit. Dean took his without a word but thrown it on the bed.

Delaney was lounging on the sofa, the bag in between her crossed legs. She was intently watching the rerun of some old Looney tunes.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "We could go to the zoo or one of the local museums. Native American culture is really cool. Big birds that could carry elephants. Pretty shroomy." She stuck a handful of Goldfish in her mouth and Dean watched her carefully. He had a feeling something was up.

She wasn't taking it as easy as she was letting it come off as. She had promised to never underestimate a hunt again. No matter what she was dealing with. But she felt she had a much bigger picture in front of her and she wasn't necessarily taking it easy. She was doing this for Dean.

"Uh…. I hate to be the party pooper but we're in the middle of a hunt."

"No we're not. We haven't even started yet." The noise of a cartoon-like exaggerated boom made Delaney give a chuckle.

"The point is; we have a vicious werewolf on the loose, making puppy chow out of hot blondes. We can't take a day off to parade around to the tourist hot spots."

"We need a day to ourselves, Dean. The last time I went to the zoo was-uh- never! I don't think that's healthy." She turned to him quickly, giving him a sarcastic smile before turning back to the T.V.

"You're annoying, you know that?" Dean stood up from his chair by the bed and dug around in his duffel until he found the gun he was looking for. "And you still sound the same as when we were kids. _That's_ not healthy."

"I have a life that sucks big monkey ass so I get to act however I want." She took a quick sip of her Gatorade, without looking up. "I have my moods and you know that."

"_You_ know more people could die if we don't find this thing, right? That's on us and if you really mean you'd rather go to the zoo and let people die then-"

"Okay. I get it. I'm sorry," Delaney apologized, rolling her eyes at his tone and fell silent. As much as she usually liked to argue with him, she was beginning to realize it wasn't the ideal time for it.

"Better yet, you go to the zoo. A few states over. I don't want you here when I shoot this thing."

"What?" She snapped, standing up without taking enough time to set aside the bag carefully. Goldfish scattered across the cushion. Her face had transformed from the easy-going Delaney to the serious pissed-off look of determination she'd been wearing more than when she had been younger. "We agreed I was staying to help and I'm staying. And anyway, I'm not some dumb teenager. I can make choices on my own now."

"That's reassuring," he muttered.

"Seriously, before I'd follow your rules because I was outnumbered. And even then, barely so. Now it's just you and me and I'm willing to take you one on one. I may be sm-"

"Just stop it, okay?" he snapped, dropping his gun and turning to her. The gun fell with a loud thunk against the small bedside table he'd moved over, away from the room window, in case someone casually looked through it.

Delaney fell silent and watched the place the gun had landed. Dean rarely snapped at her like that and as Dean watched her wide eyes and her slightly parted lips, he sighed.

"I get what you're trying to do but I'm fine. You acting like a nine-year old isn't going to make things any better. I'm fine."

"I forgot you did that." Delaney shook her head, realizing Dean wasn't going to talk about anything. She could tell from the way he had clearly avoided mentioning Sam. A bitter smile aligned the lower region of her face and she let Dean see it before she turned away.

"What?" Dean asked, dropping the rag in his other hand he'd been using to clean his gun.

"Right, because I'm the one acting like a nine year-old. I really don't get you sometimes, Dean. I don't get how you can keep everything so bottled up and tight. Whenever something's up with you, you have the habit of playing it cool." Delaney couldn't help it. It was just frustrating her that Dean hadn't changed that habit at all.

"Yeah, sure."

"Forget it." She snuggled back up to the sofa; knowing arguing with Dean wasn't worth it. She'd just end up saying something she'd regret. She ignored the goldfish poking into her butt.

"What, Delaney? What do you want me to do? Do you want me to cry on your shoulder, as you wipe away my salty wet tears? No thank you." Dean asked, turning his body away from her but managing to still see her figure out of the corner of his eyes She didn't answer but just silently watched the T.V. Her face was expressionless but he knew it was because she wanted it that way. "You started this, Delaney. You brought it up. I'm not like you. I'm not good at that sharing and caring crap. This is the way I deal with things."

"Like me?" Delaney turned to him, her face plastered with angry disbelief. "You called me for a reason, Dean. I didn't force anything on you."

"Yeah, you know what?" He turned back to his duffle and picked up his gun. He stuck it back into the duffel and zipped it up aggressively. "That's pretty low of you."

"What?" She gave a humorless laugh. "Low of me? You just can't let anyone help you, can you? Or are you just afraid of letting in anyone else but Sam?"

And there it was. The one thing she was going to regret for a long time.

Dean's face instantly lost expression as he turned to face her. The bitterness and anger in his voice scared Delaney, "I think you should go."

Delaney stared him straight in the eye, taking into count the tired hard lines on his face and the accusation in his eyes. Her face softened and she stood up. She walked over to him and the apology in her eyes was evident. But right along with that, there was the stubbornness they held.

"You can't just tell me to go when the going gets hard," she said. "Because you know that's exactly when I'm gonna stay." She raised a hand to place on his arm but dropped it when she thought better of it. She knew Dean wouldn't react well if she touched him.

"Just go. Please."

"I can't leave you like this, Dean."

"I'm fine. How many times do I have to repeat it? I just need some time alone."

"Then why did you call me? Because it didn't sound like you wanted to ride solo. You're packaging this up tight, Dean, and it's worrying me. You're trying to ignore the big picture here and that never leads anywhere good. We could start on the hunt, okay? I'm just not leaving." She spoke softly, trying to get the situation under control.

"You want to help me? Go. I'll call you once I gank it."

"That's the point, Dean! You won't! Do you really expect me to believe that when you won't even call your brother to check if he's okay?"

"You're acting like you understand this piece by piece! You don't have a brother! You don't have a family and you don't know what it's like for someone you felt like you'd have forever, to just leave you!"

The hurt that crossed her face was almost imperceptible before she managed to hide it. But the pain in her chest left a remaining ache that clogged up her throat. She didn't turn away but just answered simply, "Yeah. I do." She refused to let the tears fill her eyes but she felt the sting of them.

Dean caught the pain it gave her and he began to speak,"I-"

"It's okay. I'll give you your space. Just… promise me you'll call Sam." She retreated back to the sofa and picked up the bag of Goldfish on the sofa. She placed it on the coffee table and stuck her hands in her pockets. Her eyes were clear, she'd blinked the tears away when she was turned away from him.

Dean knew he had hurt her. As hard as she was trying to cover it, he could see it. He hadn't meant it. That wasn't what he had tried to say. Yet that was what had come out of his mouth.

"I'll-uh… I'll see you." She passed by him and exited the motel room. She wasn't angry that time. She was just hurt.

And she left before he could say anything else. Before he could realize that he was pushing everyone away, everyone that wasn't Sam.

Dean had never felt more alone. People had turned their back on him before; he had been abandoned more times than he could count. But through it all, Sam had always been there.

Where was he now?

…

Delaney had no intention of leaving him. She wasn't willing to in the state he was in. She needed someone to be there for him and even if he shut her out, she was making sure she was still at least in the same city.

She'd only been to Tulsa once before on a quick trip with John and the boys for some important books John had needed. She still remembered the little diner John had stumbled into with the best tasting fries she had ever had. Fries she ate every chance she could get. It wasn't exactly healthy but what the hell.

As she drove down the many streets and scoped out the area she knew the diner was in, her phone began to ring. She'd thrown it over the seat in her haste to get out of the motel parking lot and now she wasn't sure how she was going to reach it. She had a feeling it might be Dean so she didn't try as hard as she would have if it was anyone else.

She just wasn't in the mood to talk to him. She knew he was going through a tough time but even if he was, she just wasn't sure she wanted mean things directed at her. She wasn't going to stick around for him to treat her like that. He was hurt and she understood that, but not enough for it to be okay to spaz out like that.

As she passed by a McDonald's it took her some strength to not give up and just go through the drive-thru. But those fries had tasted so good, according to her memory and she deserved some luxuries every once in a while. She'd been half-pissed for having to drive that far to Dean and then him just asking her to leave. She was still worried about why he'd been all beat up the night before but she just dismissed it from her mind. She needed something to make her feel better and fries were her first choice.

She drove farther down the street to find a faintly familiar diner, the weird decorations she remembered from the last visit to Tulsa were still there, at the corner turn. She had a feeling she'd seen it before and she definitely remembered Dean commenting on the portly gnomes littering the strange yard in the front. The gnomes were a little freaky and she was sure most diners didn't even have a front yard. But the food made up for it.

Delaney sighed when most of the lot was full. The parking spaces in the front were occupied and for a moment she had nowhere to park. She stopped the Chevelle, looking around carefully for a spot when a truck near the front pulled out. She stepped on the gas eagerly, the fries flashing through her mind.

She turned her car off and got out, noticing people were even waiting outside. No diner usually had attraction like that.

"Awww, man." She stuck her keys in her leather jacket pocket and approached the diner anyway. She pulled the door open and as the air conditioning hit her she struggled to maneuver in between the people.

"Excuse me." She slipped in between men and women who were lined up at the front of the diner, right at the stools and counter. She managed to make it to the front and directed her words at the sweating man at the head, "I wouldn't be wrong to say this place can't take another soul, would I?"

The man looked up from the many customers and orders. He gave her a tired smile, "No. You wouldn't. We really can't take anyone else in here but if you want, you can give us your order and we can take it out to your ride."

"I'd like that. Umm…" She paused to examine the many choices and combos on the bulletin over the guys head and smiled when she recognized what she wanted. "The salty original fries please. No mustard and no ketchup. In the nude."

She rarely ate fries with anything. She liked them original and naked. She wasn't a fan of dunking all types of gunk on things that were already delicious.

The guy handed her her order number and Delaney leaned over to whisper in his ear, "You look cute in your uniform. The blue Chevelle out front."

She left smiling when she felt the guy's stare follow her. Oh, how she liked shocking people. Especially when it got her something free or extra.

She got comfortable in her car because she knew it was going to take some time until they got to her order and because she hadn't had a moment to relax since she'd gotten Dean's call the night before. And her car needed some relaxation.

She turned the radio up, not so loud but loud enough so it could block out the noise trailing from the diner. Delaney had been about to let herself fall back onto the seat but when she realized the radio was playing some pop song she reached out quickly and turned it to the blues station. She leaned back against the seat and slowly closed her eyes.

Finally, she thought, as close to quiet as I can get.

And then her phone rang.

"Why?" She groaned. She dragged herself to sit upright. She could hear her phone behind the seat. She leaned over, reaching down. She struggled to grab it for a second, making it slide farther down to the right. She reached farther, the top of the long seat cutting into her stomach when she heard a knock on her door. She growled as she stood straight up on her knees and opened the door for the guy.

"Here's your order of fries and your original coke," he handed her a white paper bag and Delaney took it flashing him a smile.

"But I didn't order that," she reminded, handing the guy a ten dollar bill.

"You didn't order a drink so I just put it on my tab. Have a nice day. Oh, and nice ride by the way."

"Thanks." And she sipped at her free drink. She was so right. She thought it was kind of weird for a guy to be willing to buy a drink for a girl he didn't even know but she wasn't complaining.

Instead of continuing to struggle with her lack of growth and gripping skills, she just jumped the seat and felt for it under them.

"Ah-ha," she proclaimed when she got it and pressed redial to the last missed call.

"_Next time answer your phone, Idjit_"

"I couldn't reach it and I was driving. You know how that's against the law."

"_You've never cared about laws. I have a job for you_."

"Hey, it was you and John who raised me disregarding the authorities of our great country and no organizing books,"she balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder so she could open the white paper bag and begin to eat at her fries.

"_You're never gonna forget that one, are you?_"

"Nope," she shook her head and smiled even though Bobby couldn't possibly see her.

"_Banshee in Tarboro, North County. The family lives a few miles out of town._"

"You're sending me to North Carolina? That's pretty low. And right when I was settling down for my fries."

"_Rub some dirt on it. Get going and let me know once you're past state lines._"

"I'm going, I'm going. And a Banshee? I though those weren't a problem for hunters. They just cry when someone's about to die. Why am I going for that?"

"_You'll see when you get there. This doesn't seem like a normal Banshee._"

"Give me a break, Bobby. You should have sent me to Texas or something. They have the best barbecues ever. And then the little short ribs and don't even get me started on the burgers! Although the heat's the deal brea-"

"_You're still in Tulsa?"_

"Yeah. I offered to help Dean but he's just not in the mood for company. I don't blame him. So I left."

"_You left him?"_

"I'm not clingy, Bobby. If he doesn't want me there, fine. I'm not gonna stick around long enough for him to start throwing punches at anything that continues annoying the hell out of him. He's so out of it he can't even deal with me."  
>"<em>So you stuck around to keep an eye on him?<em>"

"Yeah," she murmured, picking through the rest of her fries. She watched interestedly as the guy running the counter at the diner struggled to get the orders right. She took a sip of her coke.

"_That boy ain't dumb. He knows you and Sam more than anyone._"

"You know, you're really confusing me here," she hissed through her teeth, placing her coke so it was leaning against her seat.

"_It doesn't take much to._"

"Hey! That's mean," Delaney smiled, knowing how it got on Bobby's nerves when she responded like a kid.

"_Yeah, yeah. Answer me something, though._"

"Shoot."

"_You don't seem that bothered about Sam leaving. You actually seem like you're handling it pretty well. Why?_"

"I don't know. Am I supposed to go insane with anger or something?" she paused, taking a deep sigh. "I really don't know Bobby. I guess… well Sam's always wanted this and as many reasons as I can find for this being wrong and selfish, well… I'm kind of a teensy bit glad he made it out. I know it sounds messed up me saying it but you can't tell me you aren't a bit proud he got into college. He doesn't have much money so you know he must've gotten some rich guy to pay for his school. And I'm not ashamed to say that makes me proud of the kid."

"_I'm proud of the rugrat. I am but this isn't the best choice for anyone. It sucks but it's true._"

"I know." Delaney nodded even though Bobby couldn't see her. "You think he's okay?"

"_Yeah."_

"And about me handling this too well that it's of intrigue, um… with Dean being all bummed out about it and John not being here I guess I'm holding it together for both of them. I'm as jumbled up about it too but... I don't know. I tried snapping Dean out of it, Bobby. God, I tried but this is something he's not going to be able to get over for a while. He's shut up like a clam. He talked about it enough to tell me he left and that he's not going to call him but that's it. And I know there's something else that's bothering him besides the big picture. But he won't tell me!"

Bobby, hearing how frustrated and annoyed she sounded spoke calmly, "_He'll open up some time."_

"Knowing Dean, that won't be until he literally can't take it anymore and that'll be just more pieces he's gonna have to pick up."

"_You never can fight with those Winchesters." _Bobby sighed._ "Call me when you need more information._"

"'Kay. Bye."

Delaney crumpled up the paper bag and slurped the rest of the coke out of the styrofoam container. She dunked the trash in the closest dumpster and drove out of the parking lot.

She stopped at a gas station to refill her car and buy a few extra bags of Fun Yuns and Goldfish. She bought a couple of Gatorades and prepared herself for a long day of driving.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Okay, my beautiful fans! Delaney has a hunt coming up! Two actually, since the next chapter picks up as a flasback of her first solo hunt. I can't just pop her into a solo hunt without starting at the beginning and showing you guys how she did at first! Warning: It's not pretty but it makes her really change her perspective on hunting and it serves as a big lesson. <em>**

**_*sigh* I love writing this story although for a moment, I was starting to feel like it wasn't as good as I was making it seem. My beautiful Beta gave me the determination to go back on every chapter before I sent it to her then go over it even more so when she sends it back. This one will outshine It's Never Fate like the sun outshines the moon! If that even makes sense..._**

**_And guess what! :D It's my birthday today! Sorry it took a while to update but I was feeling kind of tired of writing for a moment. I know, LE GASP! :P_**

**_I'm expecting more reviews than usual... :/ I got my eyes on you... _**

**_Okay, well, thanks and review!_**

**_Mar98 (the easily excited one)_**

**_P.S. Let me know how this chapter was. I would love any suggestions to make it more humorous. I've been working on humor and I have no idea how I'm having so much trouble with it. I wouldn't say I'm a terribly funny person but I joke around a lot and I'm rarely serious. I guess all the drama._**

**_Oh, Hey! I just got an idea! Light bulb! :P How about... and please do this if you have any request... any of you send me a scene you wanna see? Huh? Does that sound nice? Like, if you're like, eating some cookies and you're hit by an idea for my fic (small chance you'll be thinking of The Things I'd do while you're eating cookies but whatev) and you're like, "Oh! I wanna send Mar98 a scene where Bobby's eating a cookie and Delaney snatches it away from him!" Granted, Bobby would give her a dirty look and Delaney wouldn't have the guts to and it is a badly planned scene but you get what I mean._**

**_This could be really fun so let me know!_**

**_:D_**


	4. Flashback Part 1: Crossing the Line, RH

Chapter 4: Crossing the Line

Flashback Part 1: Delaney's first solo hunt.

July 1st, 1999 Delaney:18 The Roadhouse

"That's not fair! Why does she get to hunt?" Jo demanded, following Ellen around who was bustling about The Roadhouse, getting things ready for opening hour.

The place had been cleaned pretty well so far but Ellen believed in keeping the place spotless and neat. Or, as neat as they could manage.

Delaney didn't understand why the hunters couldn't just respect the work they did on the place. By the time it was closing time, the place smelled like a trash can and didn't look any better.

Bobby had called Ellen, telling her to send Delaney over for her first solo hunt. She'd been waiting for a long time for that moment. To prove she had some pretty good hunting blood in her. She was nervous and slightly scared but above the rest, she was excited.

"Jo, I'm not her mother or her guardian so I only have a limited amount of control over her." Ellen didn't face her daughter as she pulled down the chairs on the table. Jo, realizing she resembled a puppy tailing its mother, stopped moving and leaned against the arcade shooting game Ellen had in the corner of the place.

"That's what I've been trying to say for a while now." Delaney piped, seated at the bar. She was wearing a short-sleeved bright orange t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts she'd made from a pair of old jeans. She didn't necessarily like the color orange but it brightened her outfit up a little, she supposed.

"You still live under my roof and if Bobby weren't such a stubborn son-of-a-bitch you wouldn't be going anywhere right now. But apparently, he thinks you're ready for your first hunt. I'm not so sure myself because to me, you're still the same stubborn little girl that walked in three years ago." Ellen sighed, rubbing at the juke box in the corner of the room.

"That's not true. I matured. A little." Delaney smiled, jokingly. She tugged at the braid on her shoulder and watched as Jo sent a dirty look in her direction.

"All in all, I guess you did. I still don't think you should be out hunting on your own." Ellen shook her head.

"I could go with her?" Jo had made her way back behind the bar, knowing her mother wouldn't let her go hunting solo like she was willing to let Delaney. She eagerly straightened up in her place behind the bar, when she caught of glimmer of hope that her mother might let her go if she wasn't alone.

"Absolutely not. You're not a hunter and won't ever be. You hear that?" Ellen snapped, turning to Jo. She dropped her hand on the table next to her, the cleaning rags she'd been using to wipe the dirt and dust off of the tables, still in her hand.

"Why? I'm good and you know it." Jo demanded, her chin was jutting out slightly and her eyes were held firmly on her mother.

"I don't think you should go either, Jo." Delaney said, for the first time being serious. Not because she wanted to do this alone, even though she had been looking forward to it. She cared about Jo and she didn't want her in between her hunt. Delaney was confident she could deal with it, but just in case something went wrong, she didn't want Jo there.

Delaney should've known Jo wouldn't take it good because when she intervened, Jo snapped at her.

Jo looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "You're not anyone to say where I should or shouldn't go!"

Delaney retreated, holding her palms up in a sign of surrender. She continued to slurp from her coke, watching the onslaught of events, worriedly.

"I am. And I'm saying you're not going." Ellen gave her one of those angry mother don't-argue-or-you-won't-like-what-I'll-do looks. "So, you're going to go put the beers in the cooler and after that sweep the place. You got that?"

Delaney could tell Jo was struggling not to go off on her mother and Delaney was silently praying she wouldn't. It wasn't going to be a pretty sight.

Over the three years she'd been there she'd had more than enough times to see the pair go at each other like she'd never seen anyone before. It was mostly about Jo's accusations of house arrest and Ellen's refusal to let Jo become a cheating lying messed-up hunter of the supernatural.

Delaney usually just tried to blend into the wall during the arguments but more than once Jo had tried to drag her into the middle of it. Usually to use Delaney as the first exhibit of unfairness. Ellen had always retaliated with, "She's not my daughter, you are."

Jo's face was already slightly flushed and her face looked dangerously blank, her hands were clenched around the edge of the bar.

"I'm waiting for your 'yes, ma'am'" Ellen demanded, deciding she didn't need to continue glaring at her daughter. She returned to adjusting the tables that were too far from of their original places.

Jo was silent for a moment, Delaney shot a warning look in her direction. Jo had always been much more fearless with Ellen and she knew Delaney usually preferred the way out with her mother so Jo just impatiently shook her leg and quietly muttered, "Yes, ma'am."

Before Ellen could answer Jo exited the saloon to the back room, the clack of her cowboy boots fading quickly.

Delaney watched quietly as the back door closed, expecting to hear Ellen call something to Jo. She adjusted herself in her stool and finished the rest of her coke.

"She seemed pretty pissed." Delaney eventually commented after she knew Jo couldn't hear.

"Yeah. She'll cool off after a few hours. Enough to actually ask me where something is or answer me. In a few days it'll be like nothing happened."

"You're not going to talk to her?" Delaney slid off the barstool and placed her empty glass behind the counter. She ran her hands over her thighs, letting the small crumbs that she'd dropped fall from her lap. Ellen's peanut butter cookies were enough to make Delaney work even more than she already did. But since Ellen rarely had enough time to make them, Delaney only worked her shifts.

"It's best to leave her alone when she's like this. I don't want to end up being overly harsh with her. She just…" Ellen stopped cleaning the table closest to the door and sighed, "She wants to hunt so bad. I don't understand why anyone would want that life. Most hunters I know, and I know a bar-full, hunt because they got nothin' else to lose. Why would Jo want to give up what's she's got to get her ass-kicked every day and run around from town to town like some wanted felon? She ain't got much but she's got a choice. She's got what most hunters would have given anything for."

"Maybe you should ask her. Maybe she's wondering why you don't understand her motives for wanting this." Delaney advised, taking a step closer to Ellen. "You're doing your best, Ellen. You're a good mother and a lot teenagers have a hard time seeing that what they want sometimes isn't the best for 'em. That's why we have mothers."

"I guess. Can you go check on her for me?"

"Of course." Delaney nodded, heading for the back room. She pushed in a stool that was in her way and just as she was going to place her hand on the knob, Ellen called to her.

"Delaney?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, hon. For all the help around the place and for trying to help me back there. And on that hunt… you be careful, okay? I'll give you the details after lunch."

"You're welcome, Ellen. Okay."

Delaney proceeded to the back room to find Jo angrily removing beers from the packaging they had come in. She was sticking them in a crate so she could pull it outside and stick them in the coolers. She was struggling to move the crate farther to the left, by the cartons of beer.

"What do you want?" She muttered when the door swung closed behind Delaney and she saw Delaney's flats on the floor in front of her.

Delaney watched Jo's hunched over form for a moment, searching for the best way to tell her what she wanted to. She finally settled for the easiest approach that came to mind, "You're kind of hilarious, you know that?"

Jo stopped opening and dropping to look up at Delaney through her hair, "What?"

The aggressiveness in her voice didn't scare Delaney away. She knew Jo could get violent and she hoped she'd be ready for her when she stroke Jo may look like a pretty can-do-no harm seventeen year-old but since Delaney had seen the force behind the punch Jo had given the barfly a few days after she had arrived, she had made sure not to rub her the wrong way.

But this situation called for some rubbing. Even if it got her a black eye.

"I said… 'you're kind of hilarious, you know that?'"

"You think this is funny? Try being the one who doesn't get a damn choice! The one who gets everything done to her to keep her put, except… well, getting locked in the basement!" Jo stood up straight and gave Delaney a pissed off glare.

Delaney gave a disbelieving scoff, "The one who doesn't get a choice? Now that-that's just some funny material, there. And anyway, you guys have a basement?"

"You're such a damn sissy, Delaney. And a big jerk." Jo stalked past her, the torn carton of the beer containers in her hands.

Delaney's eyes followed her form turning her body to be able to keep her eyes on her, the faint light of the back room only leaving enough light to see her form and the Snoopy figurine on the back of her shirt. When she turned around, Delaney could still see her face clearly but not good enough to see the imperfections everyone had. Jo and her had been lazily waiting for the other one to change the light bulb and as far as Delaney knew, it wouldn't be worth it once Ellen found out that they hadn't changed it. The light bulb should've gone out by then but it hadn't and Delaney was okay with it. She'd been lucky Ellen rarely went to the back room. She'd usually send one of the girls to fetch something or leave something there.

"Uhh… okay. Is it because I called you hilarious?"

"No, because even after all the talks about hunting we've had you go and take her side! You sure seemed like you wanted me to be there!" Jo kicked the trash can a little to the side. It threatened to topple over but she used her other foot to settle it.

"Jo, I never wanted you to go on hunts. I'm sorry if that's what it came across as but it's something you can definitely go without." Delaney turned one of the empty wooden crate by the metal shelf to the right and sat on it.

"You like hunting, Delaney. Don't you?" Jo spoke more softly, returning to the boxes of beer and pulling out two in each hand.

Delaney rubbed at her smooth legs, bringing the right one under her. She sighed, "Yeah. But only because that's pretty much the only thing I've ever done. I never felt like I was ever much good at anything else. Not school, not sports, not music. This is what I was stuck with."

"That's how I feel, Delaney. You understand what it's like to have this calling, this…" Jo paused, straightening up and searching for the right word. She raised her hand to her chest and when she could find the right word she dropped it, sighing frustrated. "I feel how you do."

"No, Jo. You don't." Delaney shook her head slightly, letting her hands fall to the wooden surface she was sitting on. She rubbed at the rough flat wood. "I know you, Jo. And I learned to recognize the great perks of the job. But what people sometimes forget is the bad stuff. The stuff that makes you wanna scream until you go blue in the face or burst a blood vessel."

"Like what?" Jo leaned against the wall behind her. She crossed her arms and watched Delaney expectantly.

"Well… the food. Every kid dreams of eating burgers or pizza every day, ice cream for dessert every day, right? But after a while it just leaves your stomach so jumbled up you wish you could just have broccoli and carrots forced down your throat for a change.

"You can order a sandwich at the next diner. A salad. A smoothie."

"True." Delaney nodded. "But most of the time you're too tired to give it a thought. Which brings me to the tiring part. Sometimes it's just a little yawn here or there. Sometimes you're so tired your eyes feel like they weigh tons and your legs feel like lead."

"I can handle that."

"Yeah, you're tough. Then there's the lying. Never being able to talk to someone without feeling like a dirty piece of shit. Never getting to really know someone. Having to move around, never sticking to one place for long. And usually when you have to go, its right when you were starting to feel most comfortable." Delaney paused, waiting for Jo to say something. She didn't so Delaney continued, "I was lucky enough to never have been alone on any of my hunts or on any of the car rides but… there's always this heavy feeling left over after you leave a town. I mean, you know you've done your job that you've saved people and that can give you the best feeling ever. It makes you feel…"

Delaney paused and Jo watched her. The soft joy and wonder on her face made Jo stare at her curiously.

Delaney laughed softly, looking at Jo. "It feels like after having a whole life of being worthless at what normal people feel is necessary, essential, you're worth more than they could ever be worth. Like a superhero and for one of the only times, you think it's all worth it. The bad stuff, the giving up everything. It feels nice while it lasts but then, when it fades, you're left with nothing. Actually, you're left with the aches, the physical pain, and the dirty disgusted looks those people you save can't help but give you. And you feel like crap again."

"Like a rollercoaster."

"Yeah." Delaney chuckled, and then sighed softly. "A big fat rollercoaster of emotions. Enough to make anyone burst into tears."

"But I can handle that, Delaney. Most people out there are idiots anyway. They won't ever amount to anything. Hunters… hunters save people." Jo pushed off of the wall.

"Yeah, Save people. I remember when that sounded like such a great thing."

"How can you say that, Delaney? Saving people is about the most selfless best thing you can do. You talk about it like… like it's some curse."

"That's what it feels like, Jo. All those things I've seen out there, as best as I might've handled them, scared the fuckin' hell out of me. There's things you can't even imagine. I tell myself it's worth it, all of it, for that one feeling that you get when you make a difference but most of the time, it fades too quickly and the time it takes for the next time leaves you with just the bad stuff. The nightmares and no matter how much you try to forget, it's always at the back of your head. And I know I sound like some bad version of X-Men or something but… I just don't want this for you."

"You think I can't handle it."

"I don't want you to have to handle it. And neither does your mother, Jo."

"Really? Because she's not the one in here telling me all this. She's not the one bothering to speak to me about why I want to do this."

"She's… I don't know, scared? She doesn't know the right way to approach you because you're not keeping your eyes open enough to see what you have."

"What I have?" Jo demanded. She held her arms out, waving at the stuff around her. "Does this seem like something amazing to have?"

"It's more than you are ever gonna get if you decide to be a hunter," Delaney pointed out, standing up slowly.

"Well, no one's leaving me enough room to decide. Around my mom, it feels as good as not having a choice." Jo turned away, beginning to unpack the beers again.

They didn't speak for a while and Delaney watched her silently, running Jo's words in her head. The girl was so blind-sighted as to think what she had could be worse than what she didn't. It was frustrating Delaney.

"You wouldn't want to be something else? You wouldn't pick something over hunting?"

"Hell yeah, I would. If I still had enough time to get used to anything else. But if what you mean is, would I still choose something else, right now… no. I wouldn't. Not after everything I've had to let go of."

"You see? Even you wouldn't change what you have, Delaney."

"Because I'm not going to do that now. Not after everything. You still have other choices, Jo, and a hell of a lot too. You're not in this yet so you're not as committed to it as I have become."

"You think I have nothing to do with hunting? Look around you, Delaney. This place is only some underground hunters headquarters!"

"And that's about the only connection you should have to it!"

"Why, Delaney? Why? Because my mother says so, because you say so?" Jo dropped the can of beer she'd been holding in her hand, into the crate of beers. Delaney had been about to warn her not to fill it too much because then it's be impossible to lift it or drag it out, but Jo was right in front of her now, her angry face inches from hers. "I'm not a little girl and I'm pretty sure one thing guaranteed to you as you grow up is being able to do whatever the hell you want to do with your life and not be some sick little doll that gets put through what other people didn't get to just because of that damn reason! I know my mom wishes she never got dragged into this and that she wants me to be the one to get out but that's not what _I_ want!"

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound? You're not a little girl anymore? I'm pretty sure you throwing a tantrum like one counts as acting like a little girl!" Delaney snapped, not faltering under Jo's piercing glare.

"Screw you, Delaney!" Jo began to turn away but Delaney grabbed her by the arm. Jo tried to rip her arm out of Delaney's hand but she held on tight.

Delaney stepped closer to her, narrowing the gap in between them. She hissed under her breath, "She doesn't want to lose you too, Jo. Do this for your mother. So she won't have to lose you like she lost your father."

Jo glared at her furiously, snapping at her, "Don't you ever mention my father. You never knew him and you never went through losing a father."

She shoved past Delaney, making her stumble, and pushed the door open so hard Delaney heard it slam against the wall behind it then slam closed with the same loud slap.

…

"So, what do you got for me?" Delaney jumped into her favorite bar stool of the bar and waited for Ellen to be done stacking glasses.

"What'd you tell her?" Ellen demanded as soon as Delaney had been seated and she'd finished speaking.

"I tried to talk to her. I tried to tell her that she doesn't want this. That's it." Delaney answered, losing the smile that had been plastered on her face. She'd tried to forget the whole talk gone wrong with Jo throughout the rest of the day and it had been working until Ellen had brought it up.

"From the look of her when she stormed out that didn't seem like all of it. Spit it out." Ellen had a serious furious glint in her eye which Delaney wasn't ashamed to admit, was starting to scare the crap out of her. The guilt didn't help either.

"That was it, Ellen. Wasn't that what you wanted me to say?" Delaney sighed, running a hand through her long hair. It was beginning to reach past her shoulders.

"I wanted you to calm her down not make her as angry as hell. I know you're holding back something sweetheart. Now, you answer me straight or I'll get it out of you." Ellen leaned forward, her face right in front of Delaney's. Delaney really didn't like it when people put their face right in front of hers and Ellen knew that. It made her feel threatened and violated and it usually disconcerted her enough so her hard face broke and she had to give in. Staring someone straight in the eye was a different matter. That she was more than well acquainted with. And winning the stare-offs.

"I told her," Delaney paused, not sure how this had been turned around on her. "That you didn't want to lose her like you lost her father. Now, tell me, is that far off from the truth?"

Ellen watched her closely, giving her the evaluating eye. Delaney could deal with that one. But the proximity of Ellen's face was making her feel nervous.

"God, Ellen! I didn't piss her off intentionally! I didn't threaten her or try to! Frankly, I wouldn't have the balls to! Your daughter is one tough girl and I wouldn't want to get tangled with her or you. And, she's my friend. I wouldn't intentionally hurt her."

"Even then, you stepped over the line bringing up her father."

"It's true! You don't want to lose her, Ellen. Am I wrong? You don't want to have to go through the same thing you went through when your husband died?"

"You don't talk about my husband you hear me? You're under my roof you eat my food so you respect the Harvelle business and you don't throw it around like it can't open wounds. Okay?"

Delaney clamped her mouth shut, the heat running up to her face. Was today just the day she was gonna get yelled and hissed at? She had just been trying to help.

"Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now go get ready for opening time and lose the attitude. If you don't want to get snapped at, you need to learn how to control that mouth."

Delaney stiffly stood up, releasing a restrained breath and went to the back of theRoadhouse to get ready for her starting shift. Maybe she had stepped over the line. Honestly, she knew she had but she hadn't been sure what other way to handle Jo. She hadn't meant to hurt her or make her feel bad. She had just been frustrated that Jo wouldn't see what she had right in front of her face. That she couldn't appreciate what she had and how jealous of it Delaney was.

She grabbed her pack from the back of the room and changed into a pair of old jeans and an old faded blue t-shirt. She zipped her pack up and stuck it in its place behind the shelf.

…

"Here's the information. Bobby called and said he wants you at his place first to outline what you're supposed to do."

"I already know what I'm supposed to do." Delaney muttered from her place in front of the old arcade game Ellen had in the corner of the bar.

"You can't ever know too much about hunting. You have to keep learning so you won't screw up and I swear to you, you don't know everything. Get going. I packed you some sandwiches and bottles of water. Be careful." Ellen handed her a plastic bag and Delaney took it slowly. She got to her feet and headed into the back room for her pack.

She stood at the doorway for a moment, watching as Ellen bustled about serving people. The Roadhouse wasn't that busy that night so Ellen had decided to let her go earlier.

Ellen looked up from her tray of beverages and food to catch Delaney staring at her. She murmured something to the hunter she had been talking to and bustled over to where Delaney was standing.

"What?"

"I didn't call you."

"Yeah but you were eyeballing me so, what?"

"I was just thinking… how I should apologize for bringing up… well you know what."

Ellen shook her head, "Honey, apologies hold nothing for me. I shouldn't have asked you to talk to my daughter. That was my problem to deal with. And I should have figured your big mouth would start something."

"Yeah." Delaney chuckled, swinging her backpack over her shoulder and liking the feel of its weight against her back. Like she had something to tie her back to the Roadhouse. Like someone cared enough to fill her backpack with food and water and stuff to take care of herself with. And she was immediately warmed by the fact that Ellen was that someone.

"Take care, baby. Don't worry about us."

Delaney nodded; feeling a weight she hadn't known she'd been holding, lift off of her shoulders. She squeezed in between tables heading for the exit. Before she exited she turned to face Jo who was passing out drinks and chatting up the hunters.

"Bye, Jo!" She shouted over the noise and waved. Several hunters looked up at her with annoyed expressions but Delaney ignored them only satisfied Jo had looked up at her as well. Delaney could tell she was still pissed but she waved back.

At least Ellen wasn't pissed at her.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thanks for the reviews! Leave me some more, no? :P<em>**

**_Enjoy the first part of the flashback!_**

**_~Mar98_**


	5. FB: Part 2: I don't want anything more

Chapter 5: I don't want anything more

Flashback Part 2: Delaney's first solo hunt

July 2nd, 1999 Singer Auto Salvage Delaney: 18

Bobby was in the middle of putting the rest of Delaney's hunt together and putting aside the things he wanted her to take care of the shape shifter with when he heard the rumble of her Chevelle drive into the lot.

Delaney was finishing the last of her sandwich when she turned the engine off and waited for Bobby to come outside.

She'd driven the whole night through, taking a short rest here and there. It had taken her a lot of strength to get up when the alarm on her phone rang. And the thing that kept her driving was the short nap waiting for her every 30 miles.

The way to Bobby's wasn't unfamiliar since she took every chance she got to head back to his place and try to make him smile. Delaney had long ago accepted it happened rarely and at the most random times but she'd still give it a try.

She continued to eat the remaining of her sandwich as Bobby exited his house and slowly walked the remaining distance to her car.

It was hot outside and Delaney, hating the heat had all the windows open and had removed her t-shirt. The black tank top she had underneath was good enough to get her cooled off and Bobby was usually the only person at his house.

"You havin fun making the old man walk?" He stopped by her window, growling but Delaney could tell he wasn't actually angry.

"Me? Never. I was just finishing my sandwich," she gave him a cheeky smile. "So what do you have for me?"

The sun was shining on Bobby's face, making his eyes squint to see her in the darker inside of her car. She stuck a smooth arm out of the open window and let the sun hit it.

"Shape shifter in El Paso, Texas. Man went home to find his wife murdered. Said the man who did it looked a lot like him. Police think he might have some head trauma and that it was actually him who murdered her. Can't take it as a confession because his noggin ain't in the best shape."

"What if it was him?"

"Doubt it. Just go check it out."

"I would've thought you'd give me a minor ghost or something," she smirked, rolling her arm against the hot metal of the car. It burned but it gave her the impression that she was at least trying to get a little more tan. She almost giggled at her cheesy joke but held it in. It would just serve to make Bobby think she was stranger than he already thought she was.

"I still can."

"Nah, I'm good with this. Shape shifter's go bye-bye with a bullet to the heart. Or decapitation."

"Shape shifters are tricky, Laney. Don't get over confident. I have a good mind to go along with you."

"I'll be fine. Really."

"Just keep your eyes out and your ears open. I'm not sure I-"

"Bobby. I'll be okay. I promise I'll keep an eye out."

"You could die or get a lot of other people killed so don't take this lightly. I know you, Delaney, and you have a habit of misjudging things. Don't get too comfortable. Here." Bobby handed her a heavy pack through the window and Delaney grabbed it tightly, making a funny face at how much it weighed.

"What's this?"

"Your mother's books."

"Oh," she said softly, looking down at the old leather pack. The leather was cracked and a deep brown. She actually liked the look of the deep winding cracks against the smooth leather. It gave it character. And her mother had had a lot of that.

"I cleaned the guns, refilled the canteens with holy water, and sharpened the knives. I fixed it all up for you so you better not leave them in a bad state."

"I'll take care of them I swear but where am I supposed to put all of it? I don't have a fake trunk bottom and I can't just have a suspiciously big and heavy pack in my backseat. It could pass off as a body and you know how Police tend to arrest first ask questions later. And then they'd find duffel full of weapons. They'd either think I was some crazy terrorist or a gang member transporting weapons."

"Already taken care of. Last time you came over, I spent a lot of time fixing up your car. Oil doesn't take a week to change."

"I thought you just wanted me around."

"Cute. The back of your seat has a pull-out weapon compartment." Bobby opened the door and reached to the back of the seat. Delaney heard him smack the seat hard twice and the click and slide of something pulling out. She looked over to find a long neat wooden compartment with separated sections and padded sides.

"The stuff clanking around there won't make noise?" The awe in her voice was clear and Delaney didn't try to hide it. "What if I crash? Would the knife cut through the other side and stab me?"

"That's what the padding is for. Your weapons won't get damaged. And…" Bobby trailed off, giving her a weird look when she looked excited about the whole knife cutting through the wood and leather and stabbing her. Delaney waited for his answer. "I… won't even answer that one. Also… what do you want to do with your mother's car?"

Delaney's expression changed, into a thoughtful neutral one. Bobby retreated, closing the door behind him and waiting for her response.

"You… can have it. Pull it apart, sell it. Whatever." Delaney sipped her drink and unbuckled her seatbelt so she could get out. She'd changed back to her shorts, knowing it would be hot at Bobby's.

Bobby stepped back as she climbed out, "You sure?"

"Yeah. I don't need it and it's not like the car is important to me. The person who drove it was who I cared about but that's about it." Delaney walked the rest of the way to Bobby's porch and sat down on the steps. They creaked under her weight but she ignored it.

"Okay. You want something to munch on before you leave?"

"Nah. I already gobbled down the sandwiches Ellen gave me. For now… I just want something hard to sit on. That car seat really bothered my ass after the first two hours.

"When you're ready to go call me."

"Hey, Bobby!" she called as he circled the house to the back, dirt flying up as his boots touched the dirt.

"What?"

"I never knew my car had a compartment. You're pretty cool."

"Yeah, yeah."

"For an old man."

...

July 4th, 1999 Motel in El Paso, Texas

Delaney was used to tired. Not enough so it didn't affect her but enough so she could hold onto her consciousness and make it to the closest bed surface and collapse. Maybe, if she was especially determined, she could still hold a conversation. Granted, it would probably be awkward and clumsy, sluggish, but it counted for something.

Delaney stumbled out of the car, barely remembering to pull the keys out of the ignition. She stuck them in her jacket, the quiet jingle of them impacting the bottom of the pocket notifying her that she hadn't missed and they in facet were we're she'd intended to put them.

She couldn't focus on anything in particular because it was dark and because her eyelids were having trouble staying up and out of her view. She noticed the neat simple entrance with the small pot of cacti on either side and the brown welcome mat in front of it.

Delaney opened one of the doors and stepped in, almost groaning in frustration when the air inside didn't seem any cooler than the one out. She didn't because she was even too tired to do that.

A balding man was behind a surprisingly small counter, a shelf of compartments behind him, full of papers and boxes. The desk was clear except for a cup of writing utencils and the random folder or two.

The man looked up as she entered, his face not as old as Delaney would've expected from the bald spot at the top of his head, the one she had been able to see because he'd been bent over a magazine. He looked around his forties or fifties, the small smile wrinkles around the edges of his mouth and eyes, indicating he was a happy man.

Delaney stepped forward carefully and the man waited until he was sure she wasn't going to say anything.

"One bed?"

"Yes." Delaney walked up to the counter and handed the man a wad of cash. "Doesn't matter what room."

The old man nodded, handing her a paper and a pen for her to sign her name on. He looked at her from the corner of his eye.

Delaney handed the paper back and took the keys that the man gave her. "Pretty quiet out there with it being Firework night."

"Yeah. They tend to start making racket when you finally decided they wouldn't this year. Turns your mood right around."

"You don't like fourth of July?"

"Oh yeah. I do. It's just the mood hasn't been celebratory these days. At least not for some people."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Oh, crime rate going up. You know, the other day a man murdered his own wife. The worst part was I know that man and I never would've thought."

"That's horrible!"

"Jim wasn't like that. He was the kindest man you could ever know. I guess you just never know with people. Stuff has also been going around that Jim wasn't right in the head. I'm beginning to think so too."

"What do you mean?"

"He called the police himself. When the police got there Haley was dead. Jim had blood all over him and when the police asked him if he saw the person who did it he said the man looked exactly like him. Jim was taken to the hospital and put through all types of mental tests. Fine except for, you know, the grief. Police have been thinking about taking it as a confession."

"And Jim… he swears he was at work that night?"

"Yeah. Even the Janitor from the office building confirmed he saw Jim there. Police are stumped."

"Where's Jim?"

"Mental hospital downtown."

"That's so sad."

"Yes. They were about the happiest couple I knew. Married for only two years. Jim's so heartbroken he refuses to see anyone. All we can do is pray he'll get better."

"Yeah. Well... thank you."

Delaney retreated to her motel room and took a quick shower. She slipped into her favorite sweat pants and tank top, lying down in bed and turning the t.v on. She left it on the animal channel as she thought over the hunt that she would soon be dealing with on her own.

The fireworks started soon enough and as she heard them, she began to think over the many fourth of Julys she'd spent with the Winchesters and the many she hadn't. The past three years she's spent her fourth of Julys and her birthdays at the Roadhouse, waiting for the men of her life to call.

They hadn't and she'd continued to wait.

She was tired of waiting. She'd done it most of her life when her mom was gone and she'd been doing a lot of it, for Bobby to find something on her dad. Waiting was something she'd done so much she knew she should have already been so familiar with it, it was like breathing.

She had the feeling that it would be so much easier if she just picked up the phone. She wouldn't because her point had been that they needed time from each other and she needed time for herself. And she felt that if she called she would just be contradicting herself.

She had separated herself from them so now she had to suck it up. And she would.

….

July 5th, 1999 El Paso Mental Hospital

"He's asked for no one to be let into his room. I can't go against a patient's needs. If you give us your number we could call you once he's in a better state." Dr. Loraine murmured quietly. He was a balding man in a white doctor's coat.

The hospital, like any other hospital she had ever been in, was one of the cleanest places she'd ever seen. The walls were a comforting white and the halls were plastered with drawings and paintings by patients and helpers. There was a large amount of pictures on the walls but even with the things that tried to make the place comforting, it wasn't making it any better for Delaney. The place seemed to be a non-stop buzz of shouts and moans and cries. The occasional ongoing eerie laughter. The nurses had seemed friendly enough but she was still planning on getting out of there as quick as her feet would take her.

"I just need to let him know I'm here for him. It's been a while since we talked and he's my mother's friend. " Delaney answered softly, giving the doctor her best grieving desperate look.

The doctor watched her closely then slowly nodded. "I need to let him know first. If he says no then no."

"Okay. That's all I need."

The doctor retreated into the room Jim was being kept in, his strange doctor's coat billowing out behind him. Delaney waited nervously by the door, shaking her foot slightly and watching as a young nurse guided a distressed older lady to her room down the hall.

The older lady was sobbing uncontrollably and Delaney tried her best not to look at her or make eye contact because she was already shaken up about being in a looney house. Delaney couldn't help but inch a little closer to the door and just when she thought they were going to pass by her without interruption, she felt a hand clamp on her arm and she let out a small yelp.

"It's here! It has so many faces!" The old lady shrieked, grabbing onto Delaney's shoulders. "Kill it! Before it steals your face! Kill it!"

"Come on. Let's get you in bed." The nurse gripped the lady on each arm and pulled the hysterical patient from in front of Delaney. Delaney felt the old lady's fingernails dig into the tender skin of her shoulder and gritted her teeth in pain, eyes wide.

Delaney felt her bony hands press into her shoulders as well and as she stared into the frightened eyes of the lady, she heard heavy footsteps and the booming voices of two men.

The lady held onto Delaney for dear life as they tried to pull her away. The lady's face with all its deep-set wrinkles and blemishes bounced closely in her sight, the stink of her breath filling Delaney's nostrils.

Delaney didn't know how to handle her so she just kept her hands limply by her sides as the lady shook her. Delaney couldn't help but be terrified.

"Please! The closet! Please! The closet!"

Delaney watched with wide eyes as the men pulled the old lady away from her and led her down the hall and into the room at the end and closed the door.

"Are you alright?"

Delaney listened to the shrieks travelling from the room and just as they began to get louder, the hallway went silent. What had the lady said? How could have possibly known about her hunt? And how could she have possibly known she was the one person that could do something about the 'thing with many faces"?

"Are you hurt?"

Delaney started when she felt a hand on her arm. When she saw it was the blonde nurse that had been in charge of the old lady she answered quickly, "What? Y-yeah. I'm okay."

"She didn't hurt you, did she? She was doing so well. I don't know what made her react like this. She was okay when we were in the garden. I am so sorry."

"I-it's okay. I'm fine. Uhhh…you should go check on her, though. She looked really scared. Whatummm… what did she- what closet did she mean?"

"I don't know. We were up on the third floor before this but we didn't look in any closets. Are you here visiting a family member?"

"Something like that, yeah. I'm just waiting for th-"

"What was that entire racket?"

Dr. Loriane stepped out of the Jim's room with a worried expression plastered on his face. Delaney didn't know how anyone could handle working at a mental hospital. It gave her the heebie-jeebies.

"Patty had another one of her hysteria attacks."

"Another one? That's the third time this week. I don't want to give her any more medicine or she'll be walking around like a zombie."

"She's been like that before?"

"Yes. She hadn't started getting that bad until a week ago. She'd been fine for months," the nurse sighed tiredly, giving Delaney a worried look. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Doctor, so can I speak to him?"'

"I…" the doctor paused, taking a deep breath. "I suppose so. He didn't answer me when I asked or even react for that matter and maybe seeing a familiar face will get him to open up."

"Thank you." Delaney entered the room without another word. She would've locked the door if it had a lock but she assumed the hospital thought it was easier that way.

The interior of the room was bland. The walls were a creamy white; there was a bed, a desk, a chair, a bedside table, a restroom, and a small television set hanging off the wall.

Delaney was still shaken up about the incident earlier, her heart still beating faster than usual. She tried to work on her breathing as she looked around the room, her instincts still on alert.

Jim was in his thirties. His eyes were dark brown as well as his hair. He looked like he was about six-one but Delaney couldn't tell since he was sitting. Delaney watched his immobile form seated in front of the neat wooden writing desk. As Delaney stepped closer to him, she noticed the long healing cut on his right forearm.

"That looks like it hurts," she said softly, keeping her hands behind her back.

Jim didn't stir.

"Flowers would make this room look a lot better. Actually, I heard they had a garden here. I could pick some for you."

Delaney couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. He'd lost his wife so quickly after being married and nobody believed him the events after and before his wife's death. And above the rest of it, he must've thought he was going insane when he saw his face reflected at him.

"I don't know you."

The words were spoken with no feeling. They were distant and empty.

"No. You don't," she paused trying to think of the best way to say she believed him. That she knew what he had seen was real. She didn't want another patient squeezing her shoulders until she felt she'd have to run. "But I… I believe it wasn't you who killed your wife. And I believe that you did see another man with your face."

Delaney held her breath as she waited for Jim's answer.

"You think I'm crazy."

"No. What you saw was true. You weren't going loco. You're not crazy, Jim. What you saw is a species of what I... what I deal with. I... decided not to throw a police act on you because from what I know, you haven't had a good experience with them. But... Either this thing is real or we're both nuts. Which I doubt." Delaney paused, walking closer to Jim. "It's called a shape-shifter. It can change its appearance to fit anyone. Its eyes tend to glow on film or in pictures. Most shed their skin like layers of clothes."

Jim didn't speak as Delaney approached even closer, "I hunt these things, Jim. Not many people do but that's my job. I was raised on it and I can help you obtain the peace of mind you deserve. I can't bring your wife back. But I can kill the thing that did it. If you tell me what you saw and what happened once you got home from work that night."

Delaney came to a stop next to his figure seated on the desk chair and waited. Jim, making the first movement since she had walked in, turned his head to look up at her.

His eyes were blood-shot and irritated, the bags under his eyes were prominent and the cracks on his dry lips were slightly lined with red. Delaney observed all of this and almost groaned in pity.

"You don't want to hear what I saw. What… w-what I saw you can't even imagine."

Delaney swallowed, "I know. But I need to hear this. Will you please tell me?"

"How old are you?" he croaked.

"Seventeen. Almost eighteen," she answered softly, gripping the phone in her pocket tight. "In a couple of days actually."

"Sit. On the bed."

Delaney hesitated. Why did he want her to sit? She slowly neared the bed when all Jim did was stare at her expectantly. He turned his chair over to face her on the bed and he put down a notebook she didn't know he'd had.

"I was at work. I work- worked- for a company that manufactures cleaning supplies. I worked in the office building where all was in charge of was calling down the producing building and making sure they did their job right. That… that night I stayed later than usual, making calls and checking the inventory lists. I had just gotten back from the lounge when I decided that it was time to head home. I gathered my stuff and as I was walking out into the parking lot I saw the janitor that was always in charge of cleaning out my trash cans in the morning. I waved goodbye and I got in my car. The time around then was ten-thirty eleven o'clock. Before I drove off I took my phone out and I dialed our home number."

To Delaney it looked like he wasn't having trouble telling the first part. In fact, the way he was running over his words so smoothly and easily she was sure he'd said the story many more times than anyone would have liked to. But the expression on Jim's face was one of complete inattention. As she watched him she could see he was going back to that night. The only thing that was responsive to her was his mouth. Besides that, he was gone.

"She didn't answer. I assumed she was taking a quick shower or she had gone early to bed. The drive home would usually take ten to fifteen minutes. I drove more relaxed because I thought she wouldn't be awake for her to complain about me staying late. I should have known something was wrong. As I drove into the driveway and saw the porch light was off, I should have known something wasn't right. There were so many signs but I just kept dismissing them as her forgetting or her being too lazy. But Haley wasn't like that. She remembered everything. I got out of the car and I decided just to round the house to the back door. We kept the key under the small pot of flowers next to it. And as I neared it, I realized the pot had been turned over. I used my phone to look around and that was when I saw the door had been forced open. Those three seconds it took me to reach our master bedroom, the terror that filled those three seconds were nothing compared to when I saw blood… everywhere. The carpet the walls. I'd never seen anything like that and all I could think was; Haley. Oh my God, where was Haley?"

"I found her. Or…" Jim paused, his lower lip trembling and his eyes wide with tears. "Or… her body. I'm still not sure if that was even…" Jim choked out. "The thing had done so many things to her. I-it… _tortured_ her. I couldn't even see her face anymore. It was so bloody and swollen. And… she was naked so I'm pretty sure it- J-just… what could do that to someone? That was all I could keep thinkin, "What on Earth could do that to a human being? And that was when I saw it. When it stepped out of the bathroom, wiping its hands on one of our it…. It looked like me."

"Is that how you got that cut?"

Jim nodded, "He-it attacked me. We fought and then it just… it left. I called nine one one, thinking maybe they could still do something to help her. And when they came… well they arrested me. I was the one all covered in blood; my fingerprints were all over the place. They umm… they sent me here."

"Did it change shape before it left?"

"No. For all I know it could still have my face."

"The woman… the old lady that lives down the hall from here… Patty, I think. She said something about the man that changes faces. Did you tell her?"

"No. I don't talk to anyone."

"You haven't had any strange feelings? Nothing strange has happened here lately?"

For the first time Jim gave a bitter smile, "We're in a nuthouse. Strange things happen by the minute."

"Right," she nodded, standing up and smoothing her clothes. "I think that's enough. Thanks."

Before she made it out if the door Jim spoke, "Maybe you should be in here, too."

"Excuse me?"

"A seventeen year-old that hunts monsters for a living. Huh. I guess I've seen worse things lately."

Delaney hesitated, holding the door slightly open with her left hand, "Take care, Jim."

"You'll kill that thing, right? You'll make sure it doesn't hurt anyone else?"

The desperate need in his words made her heart ache. The man that sat before her had gotten to the point where he had nothing else to live for but revenge. Or the peace of mind that the monster that had taken everything from him, couldn't possibly do the same to anyone else.

"Yeah. It won't hurt anyone else."

She closed the door behind her and waited until the doctor had ended his conversation with the young nurse from earlier.

"Did Jim respond?"

"Not really, "she lied. "But it was enough for me to let him know that I would be there for him. He doesn't eat or drink?"

"The food we send in comes back untouched. If he continues like that we're going to have to force-feed him vitamins."

Delaney nodded then turned to the nurse, "How's Patty?"

"She had to be sedated. She's been going on about this… ummm… "man with many faces" the whole week. I guess she heard the story about Jim."

"Yeah. Well, I hope they both get better. Thank you, doc. I'll come by later on this week to check on him again."

"Okay, take care."

But Delaney didn't leave the hospital just yet. She sneaked past the many big burly men that were meant to control the patients when they got out of hand and climbed the two flights of stairs to the third floor. It was the quietest floor she had encountered since entering the hospital. She passed various nurses on the way but none questioned her or stopped her. Just as she was turning the corner of the hall, she caught sight of a sign above one of the many doors that littered the place.

Utility Closet.

She tried the handle and when she found it locked she jiggled it for a few seconds before giving up and quickly getting on her knees. She could hear footsteps in the many rooms and farthest down the hall as she struggled to pick the lock open. The click of the lock sounded and she quickly pushed the door open and without getting up, slid in through the crack and closed the door behind her.

It smelled of bleach and some strange brand of pine fresheners. She reached out to grab onto something so she could get to her feet. Her left hand bumped into a metal grate and she assumed it was for a metal shelf. She dug her fingers into the holes and stood to her feet.

Just as she was reaching for a light and stepped forward, her foot slid from under her and she landed on her butt with a squishy wet sound. Her butt instantly felt wet and cushioned.

She gave out a yelp when her hand landed in the gooey mess.

"What the fuck?" She muttered, as she pulled her hand upwards and something was stuck to it.

She struggled to her feet and with her clean hand felt around for the light switch. She flicked it on and quickly looked at her dirty hand.

It was covered in some sticky substance. It was cream colored with the occasional red and as she looked down, she felt the bile begin to rise up her throat when she realized what it was.

She barely managed to remove a metal bucket from the rack of cleaning supplies she had used to get up on her feet with, when the contents of her stomach gushed out into the bucket.

She convulsed several times, until she was just dry heaving. She placed the bucket on the rack and avoided looking at the pile of skin and clothes that had been left on the closet floor. She wiped her hand on a towel hanging off of the shelf.

"Oh, why did they have to shed?"

…

"_You sound like you just went through hell._"

"You're always so considerate, Bobby. It's a wonder why you weren't born with breasts and the ability to carry children in your pot belly."

"_From the tone of that voice, I think I want to know what happened to you._"

"I talked to Jim. He told me everything that was in the police reports. That's about it."

"_So, nothing useful then?_"

" least not from him. When I was waiting outsides Jim's room this old lady attacked me. Or something like that. She kept on shouting 'the closet' and 'it has so many faces.'"

"_And?"_

"I checked one upstairs and got an ugly surprise," she grumbled looking down at her hand. She had driven away from the hospital and was parked quietly in front of her motel room. She had the engine off and the windows open to let the breeze in.

"_You found it's shedding_."

"Yeah. That was some disgusting shit, Bobby. And I fell in it! I had to change in the car because it was grossing the hell out of me."

"_Those are the perks of the job."_

"Perks? More like the things you have to deal with when you got no choice."

"_Oh, stop whining. So the shapeshifter's in the hospital?_"

"I guess so. I'm heading over again, later. To look at the footage from the security cameras."

"_It seems like this thing is following Jim. Do you have any idea why?_"

"Nope. No idea."

"_Well, call me when you're watching the footage,_"

"Yeah."

Delaney took a quick shower once she was in her room. She didn't have many pairs of shorts and she personally preferred Jeans, considering the large amount of weapons one could hide in then, but the heat of El Paso, Texas was starting to get to her. The sun seemed to be constantly shining and the little breeze that hit her when she was outside was hot and humid.

She settled for some denim shorts and a normal plain black t-shirt. She stuck her usual gun in the waistband of her shorts and the usual small knife was strapped the farthest distance up her thigh. She braided her hair into a plain French braid and headed back to her car.

She ate at a small pizza place three blocks away and when she was done, it was around the time she had been planning to go back to the hospital.

She didn't want her car to be anywhere near the place, considering it would be a dead give-away someone was there and if not that, they would end up towing it and that just was not a great idea. She didn't want to walk to the hospital because that distance was just too far for her to walk so she decided to just park the car at an antique shop four streets away and walk the distance from there.

It was summer in Texas, which meant the sun didn't set until eightish. It was seven thirty and Delaney was getting tired quick of waiting for night in between the itchy bushes in front of the place.

She didn't just want to walk in there like she was visiting Jim again because One; she had visited him earlier that day and if she went again that was abound to raise suspicion, Two; they would look for her at closing time to make sure she got out; and Three; sneaking in at night was so much more awesome. And she'd been meaning to test her ninja skills for a while now.

As soon as the sun had set and all of the visitors had made their way out Delaney rounded the huge building to the back. The windows had bars so those were out as entry ways. She was sure they had to have a back door but as she kept searching, she couldn't find any. She knew there had to be an emergency exit or something but when she didn't find any, she just decided to sneak in through the front door.

"You'd think this is a jail. Only one way out and that's the way you got in," she muttered softly as she circled the hospital. She wasn't sure where the garden was but the plants and trees around the place were starting to get on her nerves. The only area of flat concrete was the parking lot.

She listened intently as she walked, making sure no security/nurse guys were out and that nothing could be behind her. The only thing she could hear was the crickets and the crunch of the ground as she walked.

And just as she found the parking lot again and the front of the building, she heard a rustle behind her. She spun around, her hand flying to the back of her waistband to feel her gun there.

The way she had come through the side of the building was silent and dark. She waited for a few moments before turning away, thinking it had been the wind.

The hit to the head wasn't enough to knock her out, but it was enough for her eyesight to go blurry and her feet to feel wobbly under her. She felt the arms of a man scoop her up before she could even moan in pain and all to quickly she felt another hit to her head.

Delaney hung limply, her mouth slightly open in the large heavy arms of a man. He was tall with big muscles and dark-haired. His eyes were dark but the flash that lighted from them, was a silver. Unnatural.

A shape-shifter's eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope my Beta doesn't get angry for this, but I know I waited super long to post this, mostly because I was working really hard on finishing my school summer project so I could visit my family in Mexico next week but since it's not possible to do so, I sent the chapter to Kinthinia to edit yesterday and she hasn't answered so I can't wait that long! I am SO SORRY, you guys! I know I don't deserve much reviews this time so I won't be expecting much. :(<strong>

**I really am sorry. Oh, and since I only looked this chapter over a little, it might have a lot of mistakes and a couple of stuff that sound ridiculously... well that don't make sense. Now you can finally see how my Beta helps me. And she does A LOT!**

**Sorry, Kinthinia. Feel free to ignore my betaing for your chapter. I just really wanted to post.**

**Love,**

**Mar98**


	6. FB:Pt3: Mistakes serve as an awakening

Chapter Six: Mistakes serve as an awakening

Flashback Part 3: Delaney's first Solo Hunt

July 6th, 1999 Unknown Location

"Rise and shine, little huntress."

Delaney woke with a start, eyes going wide as the events of the night before rushed to her mind. She reached out with her hands, trying to get to a sitting position. She couldn't see anything only the faint outline of things and she had no idea where she was.

The floor or ground was rough and dirty with something she could only guess was dirt. She slowly got to a crawling position and moved forward. She could still feel the weight of her knife strapped to her thigh and the gun in her waistband. She scuttled forward further, the rough floor digging into her knees.

"Are you awake?"

A soft voice called from higher up. She stopped moving and held her breath.

"Do you know where you are?"

Terror was gripping her insides and anxiety was starting to build up, making taking air in a hard process. It was hot and she could feel sweat coating her neck and back. She listened for the voice to speak again.

"I just want to speak to you. To the little inexperienced girl that thinks she can kill me."

Delaney spoke once she realized who she was talking to, "You killed that woman. And now you're after Jim."

"What I don't understand is what it has to do with you."

Delaney slowly got to her feet. In the middle of the ongoing darkness, she could see faint patch of light in front of her. She approached it carefully, her hand in front of her, to keep her from crashing into anything.

"I wasn't bothering you. I wasn't hurting you. I may be whatever I am but I don't just go after any random human. Unlike you hunters. You see something you don't understand and you go after it with a machete."

As Delaney reached the small patch of light, the shape shifter's voice came nearer. She stopped when she felt her foot bump into the wall. She fumbled for the knob, her hand hitting a smooth cold surface. It felt like metal. The light was right in front of her now and she assumed it was a window.

"Don't bother. It's locked." The voice was right up to her face and Delaney realized the door had a barred window. As though she were in prison.

"You killed that innocent lady," she said, her voice shaking.

"Oh, she wasn't as innocent as you thought. None of them ever are. You see, I didn't just do this, to do it. They did something to me so they deserve to die. An eye for an eye."

"You can't just go around killing people!" Delaney tried to sound like she wasn't afraid of the thing on the other side of the door but all she could get was a shakily angry voice.

"Oh, and you hunters can just go around killing us? How are we so different? You kill the things that hurt people; I kill the things that hurt me."

"What? Did Haley call you a freak? Did she stare at you funny?" Delaney spat.

"Huh. You hunters always go back to that. It's not like I can't handle the cruel teasing from you people. I've dealt with it all my life, honey. It doesn't bother me any more than the venom in your voice right now," the thing chuckled.

Shivers ran down Delaney's spine. She couldn't see or feel the shape shifter but she knew it was only a short distance away. She could feel the inhuman evil cold sense of him emanating from the other side of the door.

"Then what was it?"

"I don't want to ruin the perfect image you have of your hunter buddies. You call us monsters…."

"I haven't done anything to you."

"Oh, don't come to me with that crap. It doesn't take a genius to figure out you've been after me."

"Alright," she paused. "At least tell me where I am."

"What, so you can start planning your escape? Let's just say, it's the perfect place for both of us."

"I'm gonna kill you," she whispered angrily. She grabbed onto the door knob and began to beat against it. "You perverted evil son-of-a-bitch."

"And they call me a freak. You're so young and to have that anger and hate towards me? Towards creatures like me," it paused, its voice holding a small amount of teasing. Its next words fell flat in anger, "We never did any of you any harm. It's you hunters who start the wars."

"You expect us just to let you go? To let you just go around hurting people because you feel like it?"

"So anything and everything is justified for humans? Whenever they hurt someone, something like me or like any other creature it's fine? Even if we haven't done anything? Huh?"

Delaney hesitated, "But you've hurt people. That gives us the right to hurt you back."

"Yeah, okay. But what if I wasn't like this? What if I never touched another living soul with bad intentions and you hunters hurt me anyways? What about then?"

Delaney went silent, listening closely to the hate in the creatures voice. "Sometimes… you guys are the monsters."

Delaney listened to the sounds of it retreating. She heard the slam of a metal door and the click of a heavy lock.

"Sweet dreams, baby hunter."

…

Delaney didn't know how long she'd been waiting and struggling with the door. She'd tried to reach through the bars for the lock on the outside but even before she'd stuck her hand through it, she'd known there was no use. The window was too high up on the door, too far away from the door knob and lock.

She wasn't sure why the shape shifter hadn't taken away her weapons but even with them held tightly in her hands, it still didn't serve to calm her fears or her nerves.

She was terrified. If that was what hunting was, she hated her life so much more now. She'd been held captive before, like at the moment. But then, she hadn't been alone. She'd had a friend there for a short while until she'd gotten possessed and a damn demon to argue with. There had been light and she'd had a faint idea of where she'd been.

She had none of that now. It was so dark she could only slightly see the outline of her hands and legs if she was in the right place. She was alone and would soon have to face the thing that had made Haley's face unrecognizable. She was ready to pee her pants.

She didn't bother to call for help. She may have not had the slightest idea where she could be, but since it was deathly silent she didn't go for it. Her phone had seemed to be the only thing that had been taken away from her.

She had never been much of a prayer but she was about ready to do it then.

She didn't know how long she'd waited until her eyes began to droop. That was when she heard a faint clank.

She gripped her gun tightly in her hand and listened carefully. It was so quiet she didn't have trouble hearing the far-off incoherent scream, the noises of heavy running footsteps above her.

"People," she whispered. She jumped to her feet and listened carefully.

She could hear the slightest of muffled conversation and when she heard the footsteps right above her she shouted without thinking, hope filling her up, "Help! Please! I'm downstairs!"

She banged on the wall next to her and then on the metal door, hoping it would make more noise. She paused to listen, breathing hard and irregular.

The footsteps were retreating, the pace relaxed and normal.

"No! Please!" Delaney shouted desperately, knocking on the door, her fists stinging. "Down here! I need help!"

There was no answer and Delaney stopped banging. She pressed her back up to the door as she felt the onslaught of emotions. Tears sprang to her eyes and she wiped them away angrily. She slid down the door and wrapped her arms around legs, which she pressed against her chest.

She was trapped, alone and scared. She hadn't been smart enough to take the shape shifter down and in a fair fight she didn't think she'd be able to either.

God, what was she supposed to do? Bobby would probably come looking for her in a few days if she didn't call. She didn't know if she'd be alive by then.

She couldn't die. There were still so many things she wanted to do and even if some of them weren't the most ideal, she needed to do them. She needed to have the peace of mind that came when knowing where her father was. She needed the peace of mind that came with knowing Sam and Dean were fine. And she needed the peace of mind that her car would be in good hands.

The sound of steady heavy footsteps reached her ears and she quietly moved away from the door. Her insides were churning and when she heard faint humming she knew she was gonna throw up.

"Honey?" It lulled, reaching the small opening on the door.

Delaney didn't answer, biting down on her trembling lower lip.

"Now, now. No need to go creep in the corners. I'm taking you out for some of the best fresh air you can get. So, when I walk in I hope you don't pounce on me because I _will_ take the liberty of putting you down."

"D-don't come near me!" Delaney shouted, squeezing the gun in her right hand.

"Did you even bother to check that gun? Would be kind of devastating to find one of your only chances of protection or escape... useless. But then again, everything is useless and devastating now. Kind of works to burst your bubble."

Delaney trembled as she brought her gun up and aimed at the door. She held her breath as she pulled the trigger. The click warning of an empty gun resounded in her ears.

"That knife won't work against me either. Now, here it goes."

Delaney waited quietly, empty gun still in her hand as the click of the door was heard and the sound of the knob being turned.

Not much light escaped into the room around the large figure of the man entering the room, but enough to let her see some of the floor in front of her.

"Ahhh. There you are. Time for your session."

…

High-pitched screams filled the air, echoing off of the metal walls of the room the shape-shifter had Delaney in. She was strapped to a metal table, her hair splayed out around her face and eyes hooded in pain.

The shape-shifter stood over her, a small knife clenched in his right hand. Blood caking his hands.

"You know, this used to be the electro-shock room a few decades back. When doctors believed it could cure the crazies. And when there was no law against it. "

"I…" Delaney whimpered, slightly moving her head to the side. "I never did anything… t-to you."

"God, sweetie! You think talking is gonna convince a monster to let you go?" It walked away, arms in the air in frustration. "You need to struggle! Fight! Don't just lie there and whimper!"

Delaney rolled her head to the other side, feeling the blood seeping from the slash in her stomach dripping onto the metal table and wetting the tips of her fingers. The pounding in her head was making it hard to listen to the words the shape-shifter was mumbling.

"I wasn't wrong when I said you were inexperienced, was I? You're still wet behind the ears when it has to do with this. Didn't they teach you to keep an ear out to hear anything behind you? Or to plan things out as best as you can? Or… to wait until it's distracted and burst free? Or at least talk back?"

Bobby had been right. She should have been more careful. Less sure of herself. Stronger.

Before Delaney could realize what it was doing, she felt the sharp metal edge of a knife knick into the inner side of her arm. She moaned slightly, her throat too sore and mouth too sluggish for anymore screaming.

Bobby, she thought, please get here. It hurts like nothing I've ever felt before!

"You're weak, little huntress. So weak. You really should have trained when they told you to. But no… you just waved it off." It whispered in her ear, voice deep and rough. "You're scared. I can feel it. I can smell it."

It placed a hand over her chest, feeling the rapid beats of her terrified heart. "Just like a rabbit."

All Delaney could think of is the pictures she'd seen of Jim's wife. The unrecognizable face. The long bleeding gashes in her chest and arms.

"You see, I wasn't always like this. I didn't always kill people. I didn't, actually. Not like other shape-shifters. At one time, I was naïve enough to think that if I didn't hurt anyone you hunters had no excuse to hurt me. All I wanted was to live as normal as I could. I even had a family. I lived a long time thinking I was the only one that had this… curse. Turns out, I wasn't the only one. There were more like me," it paused pressing its ear to her chest. Its breath tickled her neck. "And there were more who agreed with my plan. There were more that were willing to put aside all of the teasing, the stares, the ugly nasty words. The pain. They were willing to put it aside because we believed that if we left all of you in peace you would have the decency to leave us alone but I should've known. I should've known you hunters are always the same. That you hunters are just some lying deceiving sons-a-bitches that say they fight for one thing but that don't mean it," it hissed, standing up straight and staring down at her with a furious glint in his eyes. "You're all just hypocrites. Lying stealing dirty mutts. You see, they broke into our home. They shot every one of them. I was away and when I came home, you know what I found? I found every single one of them, dead. At that instant, I wasn't the monster. I gave you hunters a chance. A chance to rest. A chance where you didn't have to fight us but you still went for it. You made me into a monster. You made me like this."

"We…" Delaney whimpered, breathing heavily. "We didn't make you… into a-anything. You chose what you wanted to be. What you wanted to do."

"And so did your hunter friends. So, now I do what I have to do."

"They're going to come for me… they're going to kill you." Delaney whispered, her eyes drooping, the sweat dripping down her forehead and into her eyes.

"I wouldn't be so sure if that's in time," it straightened up and pressed the knife into the side of her stomach.

Delaney's high-pitched scream filled the room, driving the shape-shifter on. It dug deeper, giving the knife a curving motion like it was trying to carve something out. The knife wasn't deep enough to hit anything important but it was enough to make Delaney's screams become silent pleas for it to be over. And enough for her to pass out in pain.

"Aww, honey. You just couldn't give me a fight worth my time." The smile that played into his lips was one of unsatisfied need and of what anyone else would call evil.

…

Bobby was freaking out. And he was never one to do it often.

Delaney wouldn't answer her phone and when he'd tried to track it he had come up short. Everything had been thrown away, wiped off of his charts. She was gone.

It took him less than five minutes to get everything he'd need for the journey packed up in one of his best cars. And he's make sure it took him less than one day to get to El Paso, Texas.

….

"Sam and Dean Winchester. Quite a history you have with those boys."

"Why don't you just…" she paused, exhaling quickly. "Just get it over with."

Tears sprang to her eyes as soon as she heard those two names. As soon as she realized this probably would be the last time she'd be in a situation like that. Because she was going to die and at that point that was what she was hoping for.

The pain was immense, originating from various points in her body. Her stomach had already been clawed at several times and her arms had been awarded the same service as well. She had never been in so much pain in her life and she was hoping it was soon going to end.

A face loomed over her own, the bright light hanging off of the ceiling preventing her from being able to see clearly, only showing her the outline of a smaller thinner face.

"They always beg, you know. Towards the end when they're tired of hoping and screaming. They beg. And that's my favorite part."

Delaney's lips trembled in disgust when she realized whose face was over hers. Her own. She'd never been given the chance to see her own face so close and for once, not in a mirror. It left her horrified. To see herself last, inflicting the pain and the fear. She didn't think she could take it.

"And you… aren't you a little boring? You gave up EVEN before I started on you. Guess you've been missing that little thing called hope for a while."

"You… you sick bastard."

"Oh, you like my new suit? It came with a lot of perks as well. Besides the usual."

It placed a hand identical to hers to its temple and breathed in deeply. Its face, her face, contorted a little in pain but when it was over it sighed, satisfied.

"Oh, I understand. It's hard to have any kind of hope with a life like that, huh?"

"D-don't. You don't kn-know anythin."

"I do, as a matter of fact. A lot. You're childhood wasn't as bad as most hunters. But it was still a big pile of shit, wasn't it? And then these boys. The way you care for them, wow. Too bad they don't return the favor though. What can you do with 'em?"

"Why were you after Jim and his family? W-what does he have to do with the fact that you're shape-changing buddies were murdered?"

"He has everything to do with it," it growled. "He called the cops on us. Various times and the hunters caught on from there. Now, I'm making him suffer. I'm making him feel what I felt when I went home to find my family butchered."

Delaney watched as her figure retreated, back to her. She slowly looked down at the leather straps holding her and at the room she was in. And it came to her. She knew where she was.

She wiggled a bit, holding back the whimper she wanted to give when pain erupted in her wounds. She looked over at the small metal table littered with medical tools beside her. She slowly moved her right arm over so it was hanging off of the metal table she was on.

"You haven't seen them in years. And you think they don't care about you. Must suck. Being alone most of the time, wondering what's still worth living for. Wanting something to believe in so badly because you stopped believing in the Winchesters long ago. And Dean… oh, want him to see you. To notice you. And no matter how you try to suck those feelings for him down, you can't. You want them to go away because you know what it leads to. You know Dean like the palm of our hands." It laughed. "Because you know he'll just use you, like every other girl. He'll just have sex with you then dump you. Oh, but you still wouldn't mind that, would you? You wouldn't mind him holding you, whispering things to you, kissing you. Sad, really. Because you know he'll never respond to you in the same way you respond to him. And that's partly why you left them, right? So you wouldn't feel that big hole in your chest that you longed for them to fill. But that deep deep inside you knew they never could. Because it runs deeper. Talk about family issues."

"You don't know anything. You don't have a family," she growled, angry tears stinging in her eyes.

"You call that a family?" It spun to face her. Delaney couldn't help but catch her own breath as she saw her own thin face reflected back at her. The anger in its dark gaze piercing her own. Her heart-shaped lips were pressed so brusquely into a hard firm line that her lips were turning white from the force. "Delaney, you don't have a family. You haven't had one for a long time. We're two peas in a pod, cupcake."

"That's where you're wrong. I may have family issues. I may be alone now but I know they have my back. I know that I can always turn to them. And you're just jealous!"

Delaney sat up, the bonds that had been holding her down slipped off of her, cut. She watched as the shape-shifter's eyes, her own eyes widened in shock and then in anger. She watched herself start towards her and she brought up the knife she'd used to cut free. She aimed and threw it, like a dart. It hit the shape-shifter in the arm whereas she'd been aiming for its heart.

It hissed, clamping down its other hand on the knife. Delaney jumped off of the table, her legs wobbly and reached for the rest of the medical supplies on the table next to her as the shape-shifter pulled the scalpel out of its arm and stumbled towards Delaney.

Delaney managed to duck as it aimed a punch at her. She countered with a low punch to its stomach and as it bent over in pain, she grabbed it by the head and brought her knee up to its stomach.

It dropped to the floor and as she stepped aside, looking for any way out she could find, she caught sight of her gun on a table by the door. She started towards it but quickly felt a hand clamp around her ankle and yank it. She fell to the floor, her hands smacking against the ground.

It dragged her closer to it, then let go climbing on top of her so its thighs were wrapped on either side of her waist. It then grabbed Delaney by the hair and brought its face up so it was next to the shape-shifter's identical face. Delaney struggled wildly, desperate to get out from under it. It wrapped it thighs tighter around her, making her gasp in pain and fear.

"Trying to get away, huh?" It jabbed a finger into the open wound on the side of her stomach where it had stuck the knife in earlier. Delaney let out a short agonized scream before the shape-shifter yanked at her hair, silencing her. "You're not goin to get away from me. Not now or ever. We're like conjoined twins, Lane."

Delaney momentarily forgot her fear and hissed angrily at the sound of her father's nickname for her. "Don't call me that!"

She jerked her head back with a savage thrust, butting the back of her head against the shape-shifter's nose. It fell back, off of her and Delaney scrambled to her feet.

She stumbled against the table by the door, her fingers fumbling for the gun. She felt it was empty, the clip gone. She looked around the old dusty metal room she was in, searching for any sign of the clip she needed so bad. She needed to shoot this thing in the heart.

"Looking for this?" It stood up slowly, wiping the blood exiting gushing out of its nose. It held up her gun's clip with its other hand. "It's over, Lane. You're going to die here with me. I'm going to be the only one to hear your screams as I tear you apart. And you're going to beg for me to shoot you. And… I won't."

"Delaney!"

From then on, it was a blur. Bobby standing in the doorway of the electro-shock room, eyes wide as he threw a handgun in her direction. The way it arched through the air and the way the cold heavy metal felt as she barely caught it. The angry look in the eyes that mirrored her own. The way it threw itself at her and the way she aimed straight for where her heart would be. And the shot, the sound deafening her. The shock registering in the shape-shifter's eyes. And the dead clump of a body identical to hers.

She didn't have enough strength after that, to remain standing. She slid to the floor, her eyesight swimming. And because she couldn't help it, tears sprang to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

Bobby rushed to her, his footsteps loud and heavy. He kneeled beside her, feeling the blood soaking her black shirt. He grabbed her face in his hands, speaking words of reassurance that Delaney couldn't hear.

All she could do was wait for the exhaustion and fear to consume her. She was whimpering one moment, and then she was gone.

…

July seventh, 1999 Delaney's car, on the road back to Bobby's

She woke with a start a few hours later, her heart beating fast and terror gripping her tight. The air-conditioning was up to full blast and the radio was softly playing some old sad blues song.

Her mouth felt parched and her head was slightly aching but besides that, she was fine. Her wounds didn't ache and as she slowly raised her hand to feel the side of her stomach, she felt the tip of something biting into her inner arm. She looked down to see a big cream-colored band-aid over her wound from earlier. She could feel something holding her skin tightly together under it and she knew it was stitches.

She turned to the driver's seat to find Bobby staring straight ahead, body stiff. He was driving at a steady speed, not too fast or slow but by the look of him; you would've thought he was driving like a wild-man. The way he kept his eyes glued to the road.

"You're not gonna crash, you know? Well, with our luck… I don't know. Maybe."

Bobby turned to her, noticing the deep purple bags under her eyes and the pasty pale look to her skin. The expression on her face nearly broke his heart. She was still terrified. Her eyes had that faraway look Bobby remembered when thinking back at how she had handled her own mother's death. He could tell she was trying to be strong, trying to hold it in but he knew this was going to bother her for a long time.

He ran a tired hand over his face, "Yeah, I know. I just don't want us to fall over the side of the road because I'm trying to get you home as fast as I can."

"What happened to your car?"

"I left it back in El Paso. Took off the plates and loaded all of my stuff into yours. No point in keeping it anyway. How do you feel?"

"Okay. My head hurts a little."

"There's some aspirin in my pack." Bobby was sure her head wasn't the only thing bothering her or at least, so he thought. She had bruises that were close to making Bobby flinch and he'd sure seen a damn lot. The cuts he'd stitched up hadn't been deep enough to cause serious damage but they had been deep. And that was only her physical well-being. He had no idea how she could be mentally. He knew she was a tough girl but he'd known her since she was a kid and sometimes she could… sometimes she broke his heart at how sweet and innocent she could be. Or had been.

"It's okay. Bobby… uh…"

"You don't have to talk about it. I shouldn't have sent you on a hunt like this anyway. Not for a long time."

"Yeah. You shouldn't have."

Bobby turned to her, surprise registering in his face.

Delaney sighed, continuing, "I wasn't ready for something like that shape-shifter. It's not your fault, Bobby. Even if you sent me on this. I begged like a brat so much you had to. And honestly, I don't think I was ready for any of it. For solo hunts. I made a huge mistake back there and that was believing I could take this thing one-handed with no serious precautions. And I almost got myself killed and if anyone else had been on it, them too. I shouldn't have needed you to rescue me back there. You're not held accountable. Not one bit."

"Sometimes even the best hunters need help."

"But that should only be when they aren't the best they can be. The truth was, Bobby… I was scared. I was fuckin' terrified."

"There's nothing wrong with being scared."

"Bobby…" she trailed off a deadly serious look coming over her. She ran a shaking hand through her black tresses. She didn't face him, keeping her eyes ahead. "I was scared. Like I'd never been … it's comin to me in these quick flashes. Not enough for me to see it all over in my head but the feeling to wash over me and it… i-it feels like… I almost gave up. And I feel like a lousy piece of shit for it."

"Delaney, we all get scared. I've felt like crapping my pants more times than you, trust me. Sometimes fear is a good thing."

"There's no room for being scared, next time. There can't be. It could get someone else killed and I don't want that to happen. I can't let it happen. This is the only thing I thought I could ever be good at, you know? This is the only thing I have left so I can't waste it. I have to be good. I have to be the best."

Bobby watched her silently then turned back to the road. "We all make mistakes, Laney. You were lucky that there was no one else involved this time. I agree that you need to crank at it but you shouldn't be so tough on yourself. Everything's okay."

"This time. This time it was. I can't be useless, Bobby. I can't be the one that needs saving all the time." Tears were springing to her eyes, her throat was dry. "I have to be good at something. I have to be worth something."

"Hunting isn't what makes you, Delaney. You may think that's the only thing you have left but you're not useless and you are worth something. You're worth everything. And you need to know that."

"Killing these things and saving people are one of the only things I have left, Bobby. I have to be good at this. I have to be great. Like my mother and like my father. Like you. Like John."

"Is that what this is about? Following in our footsteps or some crap like that? If I had any choice on what should have happened to you, of what you will become, I would never wish for you to be like me or like John. The only reason we're so good at this is because we have nothing left. You have other things. At least a lot more than I do. So don't make this about being like us. That would just serve for making me feel more like crap. And anyway… you did okay for this hunt, Laney. You really did."

"I almost died."

"But you didn't. And that's what matters. In the end you pulled through and I'm proud of you. You may have been scared but you have more balls than most grown men. You did great."

Delaney listened to all of this, eyes set forward staring at the long road they were traveling on.

No matter what Bobby was going to say, her mind was set. She was going to train the best she could. She was going to work herself, mold herself into one of the best hunters. The best hunter she could be.

She wouldn't mess up like that. Never again.

She'd make it her birthday promise.

…

She went back to Ellen's after a week with Bobby. She'd never been through a week like that before. She didn't sleep. Not an eyelid. Not at night, at least. Sleep would just make it worse.

As she would lie in her bed, she'd feel that creeping terrifying feeling of being alone. Of being trapped back in that abandoned floor of the mental asylum. Memories and smells and words would come flying at her and she had no way of stopping it. And it served like a dam, once that one was broken other memories came flying at demon in coming home almost mother's death.

And she couldn't sleep.

During the day she'd watch Bobby work. She'd take long peeks at his notes and his books when he wasn't looking, too engrossed in his own thing. And suddenly he'd look up and the look of steel determination in her eyes, the look of… need in her eyes was enough to worry him beyond anything else.

She never closed an eye until Bobby took the books away from her. And when that did happen, he'd carry her to the sofa he slept on more than his bed and continued working. She would always wake up with a look of pure fear and then slowly release her breath when she realized where she was.

Bobby never said a word.

Jo didn't either. Not when she watched as Ellen cleaned the wounds and re-stitched them. Not when Delaney woke with a start a bed away. Not when her mother got this certain look on her face when treating Delaney, like if she was remembering stitching someone else up. And not when Delaney trained like a warrior.

Not when she'd worked herself to perfection.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Short author note because of seriously long chapter Okay, review and let me know what you think. This chapter was beta'd as you can probably tell. :P **_

_**I'm taking a break on updating to go over my chapters again. I will try to hurry but I'm also busy with school stuff (yes, even when its summer) and renovating my room and stuff. But if I get a lot of reviews... I might just cut my leave a little bit shorter. :P Seriously. Reviews!**_

_**~Mar98**_


	7. Psychic: Tarboro, Edgecombe, County, NC

Chapter Seven: Psychic

Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina: August 20th, 2003 Delaney: 22

Present time

"I'm so getting Bobby for this one," Delaney growled.

The land around Tarboro wasn't giving Delaney a good feeling. It was muddy, swampy, and plain disgusting. Delaney knew she might be exaggerating a bit but she wasn't exaggerating on how much she hated it.

In some sense, it could be called pretty. The sun was nice. It had been raining earlier in the morning so now its rays shined down onto the rest of the crappy terrain and it least gave her full view of where not to step. The sky was clear, blue as it could be and Delaney could feel the nice breeze slipping in through the open car window.

It had turned out, to Delaney's outrage, that the house she was supposed to be visiting was out of the town Tarboro itself. She'd meant to at least send Bobby a mad text message but she hadn't had enough time. She'd checked into a motel and had entered her room only to drop her bags in there and take a quick shower.

There were a lot of things she didn't like about the land she was going to have to set foot on in a few minutes. It was wet, slushy, with all types of weeds poking out from it. Mangled patches of grasses every few feet and rocks jutting out from nowhere. Not to mention the trees. Most of Edgecombe County was trees. She couldn't see clear ground for miles.

Delaney had decided on a sky blue thin sleeveless summer dress that stopped a little above her knee and some black wedges. Her hair was up in a messy bun, a few tendrils framing her face. She'd applied a small amount of make-up; lip-gloss and some eyeliner. Besides it feeling a little unfamiliar, she could deal with the clothes. She hadn't thought the shoes would be much of a problem but no shoe would do in the muddy slop.

She'd applied the make-up in the car, after parking by the road in front of the place. The shoes, her only high heeled shoes, she'd dug for under the back seat. She had remembered throwing them back there a few weeks back, after a brief impersonation of a detective she'd had to do.

The house looked old, a three-story place with the paint peeling in several places and the area around it cleared out from the weeds and rocks. It was a big space to place a house and most of the land in front of it, had been decorated with plants and an old swing set. Delaney thought it odd, since most houses had the swing sets in the back yard.

It was a nice place and it looked like the people in it worked hard to keep it that way. But even then, it looked old, the style it was built in clueing her onto that. It reminded her of the old southern type of house, the one where you would walk in for your daily tray of cornbread. Old fashioned with its porch and screen door. North Carolina wasn't anywhere near the south but Delaney didn't think that was important.

A police car was parked right by the other short dirt road leading up to the place, cutting through the front yard. Delaney eyed it carefully. It looked like no one had been left to stay in it so she stepped out of the car and began her way up to the house.

It wasn't much of a walk but with her heels, it felt like it. Just as she neared the porch and placed her foot on the first step, the door opened and two officers stepped out, followed by a red-headed lady in her late thirties.

They stared at her curiously when they noticed her cutting off from their polite conversation, the police having stopped their progression down the porch steps.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I'm Maribel Reynolds." Delaney felt more than awkward with the pair of cops on the steps in front of her. She reached for the lady's hand first, who was standing closely behind them. The shorter cop moved aside to let Delaney's hand reach farther.

The lady took her hand, a weary yet curious expression on her face. She was a pretty lady, with flaming red hair and startling blue eyes. Delaney knew she would've been even more stunning if she didn't have the heavy purple bags under her eyes. She had a long silver necklace and hanging from it was a bird, a sparrow maybe.

Delaney quickly shook the police officers hands when she let go of the lady's.

"Are you police?" The lady asked, turning to the other officers, not asking them but waiting for a confirming nod that Delaney did indeed work with them. They gave her a clueless look.

"Oh, I'm not a cop. I'm a psychic." Delaney flashed the most charming smile she could and leaned against the thin wooden rail beside the porch steps, making way for the cops to pass.

Delaney caught the baffled yet amused grins the cops wore as they passed her. The shorter chubbier one turned back as his partner continued walking and said, "We'll call you, Mrs. O'Malley, when we have any news."

"Thank you, officer." The lady called, then turned to Delaney. Delaney was still staring after the cops who were walking down the dirt road again, to their cars when the lady asked her, "What would a psychic want to talk to me about? And you're a little… young."

"Young? I guess so. Most of us can't be old and wrinkled and work with a crystal ball that we pull out of our long colorful robes." Delaney smiled, climbing the next two steps and standing a comfortable distance away from the lady. "I'm here to offer my services to the O'Malley family."

"Did the police department assign you to our case?" Mrs. O'Malley pulled at the thin sweater she had wrapped around her, giving Delaney a tired look.

"No. I don't work with the police department. I work with a small psychic group farther down in North Carolina. I read your case in the paper and I wanted to offer my services."

"In the paper? My case was printed farther down?"

"Yes. It's really been a hard hit for a lot of people."

"How could this be a hard hit for people that don't even know us?" The accusing tones in the lady's voice stopped Delaney from continuing until she picked the right words.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I meant that people are touched by the death of your son and wish you and your family the very best in your healing process." Delaney took a step forward, the click of her heel audible.

"Well, tell them thank you but I really don't want the services of a psychic. I feel the police department is enough at this point."

"They haven't uncovered much, though. There are just some things that can't be picked up by a normal police squad. This is where I come in. Mrs. O'Malley, I just want you to know what happened to your son," Delaney reached out for her hand.

Mrs. O'Malley stepped back and shook her head, "Thank you but I really don't think a psychic can help."

Delaney dropped her hand, smiling the most sincere and gentle smile she could muster, "Not many people do at first. To you, what I do, my gifts could be a load of lies and scheming, as far as you're concerned, right? Ways to con money out of innocent people but to convince you that I can't possibly gain anything from this, I am not asking for payment. No money. I just want to help you."

Mrs. O'Malley gave her a serious look and after a moment of examining Delaney's sincere proposition and concerned expression, she shook her head slowly, running a hand gently over her face. "I'm sorry. I appreciate the concern you're taking in all of this but I really don't need more people to worry about. All I want… is for all of this to be solved."

Delaney nodded slightly, stepping back, "I understand. It's hard for one to believe in something as foreign as my abilities. I won't bother you longer. Thank you for your time."

Mrs.O'Malley gave her a slight dismissing nod and Delaney stepped down the stairs. That hadn't gotten gone how she'd planned. And just as she was starting to walk down the same dirt road as before she got an idea.

She turned back just as Mrs.O'Malley was going to enter her house again, "Mrs.O'Malley…I… Um… this is so embarrassing but may I have a drink of water or anything you might have? I've been driving the whole day and I didn't really have much time to stop down in Tarboro and rest."

"Yes, of course. Come on in," she gave Delaney a small smile and held the door open for her.

"Thank you," Delaney rushed up the stairs and into the lady's house.

She was going to get information out of her, even if she didn't want her "services".

…

"My daughter heard the scream first. I was making dinner a little later than usual because Emily had a doctor's appointment. There were a lot of kids at the doctor's office. There's been a bug going around so we had to wait for the doctor to get through everyone else. Well, by the time we got back home it was already dark out and Jason wasn't in the house yet. I figured he was out back in the garage or out by the river." Her voice trembled slightly and she brought up her hand to rub at her eyes. She was having trouble keeping her emotions under control and Delaney waited patiently. " Ever... e-ever since we moved he didn't talk to me much. I knew he was upset about having to move, leaving all of his friends behind but it was a tough year with his step-dad losing his job and everything with his leg surgery."

"Football?" Delaney asked, sitting comfortably on the small old sofa in the O'Malley living room. It looked and felt cozy, with the simple furniture and the big ancient chimney in front of it.

"Yes. How'd you…" Patricia O'Malley trailed off, looking over Delaney's head.

Delaney followed her eyes, turning her head so she could see over her shoulder at the doorway.

A small girl with the same fiery red hair and startling blue eyes stood in the doorway. She had pale, thin arms wrapped around a small brown teddy bear and Delaney could just barely see the white of a crumpled paper sticking out from her fist. Her head was tilted to the side, eyes slightly narrowed as she watched Delaney closely, unsure of what to make of the stranger. And Delaney wasn't sure but she thought she could see a trace of fear deep in those blue eyes.

"Emily, sweetie, go to bed," Patricia sighed, glancing at Delaney tiredly before getting up to pick up the six year-old standing in the door way.

"I'm not sleepy. And the lights aren't off outside," Emily whispered, looking over her mother's shoulder at Delaney.

Delaney gave the child a smile and a short wave. She was a spitting image of Patricia. And she was right. Outside it wasn't anywhere near night. The day had been heavily humid and hot so far, the birds inhabiting the many trees around the house were enough to disconcert her. She wasn't used to animals. Or anything to do with nature. She'd lived in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere for most of her childhood but that had been so long ago that most of the stuff she'd done in the forest was faint in her mind. She wasn't sure she'd been out that much anyway. She wasn't a nature person.

"Honey, you haven't been sleeping well at night. You need your rest." Patricia sighed again, running a soft hand over her daughter's back.

"I hear her, Mommy. She cries so bad,"

Delaney stood up slowly at this. She tried to give Emily her best reassuring safe smile, "Hi, Emily. My name is Maribel. I'm here about your brother. I'm so sorry that happened."

Emily stared at her with wide beautiful eyes and she was hugging her teddy bear so tight her small fists were turning pale.

Delaney, noticing this, spoke even more softly, "Can you tell me who?"

Patricia turned to Delaney, giving her a warning glance and just as she was going to shake her head Emily wiggled out of her mother's arms and hugged her bear tightly, burying her chin behind the head.

"T-the woman. The one by the river."

"Honey, you know there isn't a woman at the river. It's probably a wolf or a bird." Patricia ran her hand through her daughter's hair then turned to Delaney with an apologetic smile. "She's been saying she hears a lady crying down by the river."

"It's not a bird, Mommy. I've seen her," She looked up at her mom with a fright. When her mom didn't answer she turned to Delaney. "I've seen her, ma'am."

"What does she look like?"

Emily hesitated, looking back up at her mother. Before Patricia could speak to her Emily stepped closer to Delaney, "She's pretty. Very pretty. Like you. She looks a little bit like you except she has a scar."

"A scar?"

"Yes, ma'am. A long her neck. Like a necklace."

"Is that why she's crying? Because it hurts?"

Emily shook her head, her mouth still buried behind her bear, her words slightly muffled. "She was washing clothes. They were dirty with… w-with…"

"With what, Emily?"

"With blood. And she was washing Jason's football jersey. It was Jason's blood."

"Emily!" Patricia placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, trying to make her face her. The shocked look on her face was enough to make Delaney realize she had strayed too far. Apparently Emily hadn't told her mother that much. "What are you saying, Emily? That's a … terrible thing to say,"

"It's true!" She shook her mother's hand off, knowing she was going to be silenced soon, desperate to get her words out and ran towards Delaney. She grabbed onto her legs looking up at her. She dropped the teddy bear as her mother tried to grab her by the arm. "Ma'am, you have to believe me! The police didn't believe me! They were supposed to, right? They were supposed to believe me, right? My mommy doesn't believe me! She took my brother! The lady took him and I heard him scream! Please!"

"Emily, baby! Sweetie, let go of her! Baby… calm down, honey." Patricia struggled to deal with her flailing child, face twisted with frustration and helplessness, uncertain of how to deal with Emily behaving as she was.

Delaney didn't know what to do so she just kept her arms limply by her sides. Emily was now full on screaming, tugging at Delaney with such a frightened expression Delaney wished she could tell her something so she could calm down.

"Please!" Emily sobbed, tugging at Delaney's dress with one hand and unconsciously digging her fingernails into her right thigh. "Please believe me! She's angry! She's gonna get me next! Don't let her!"

"Emily!" Patricia grabbed her from behind and led her out as she desperately called out for Delaney. Delaney watched them go with wide eyes, hearing Emily's sobs slowly retreating.

What could make a child act like that? She wasn't sure a banshee could do something like that and by the look and sounds of things it didn't seem like the thing she was dealing with was a banshee at all. It couldn't be. Banshees didn't murder young boys. She might've not been that familiar with them but everyone knew they cried to warn of someone's death. They didn't kill.

And apparently, Emily hadn't just heard her brother's screams as the Banshee dealt with him. She'd seen the bitch herself.

Delaney didn't doubt she had, because the fear she'd seen in that little girl's eyes and the terror that had filled her voice had been enough to give her the chills. She believed Emily, even if no one else did because she knew what it was like when everyone thought you were crazy. Delaney had thought herself crazy for a long time.

Just as she heard footsteps on the steps she noticed the teddy bear Emily had been hugging tight and beside it the white crumpled paper she'd been holding in her fist. She picked it up and slowly unballed it.

It was a picture of a blonde handsome young man, about seventeen or eighteen with his hands wrapped around a laughing Emily. He had been swinging her around in a playful manner, squeezing her tight around the middle. They were in covered in sand and she could see the foggy setting of a beach.

"I took that picture when we took a vacation to Florida. It wasn't the best weather but they still had the most fun in years. What with my divorce and the custody battle. We'd thought it was our last vacation together. So we'd decided to make it last. They were close. Rarely fought and I couldn't believe how lucky I was. She looked up to him so much. She's taken it so much harder than any of us," Patricia's voice broke slightly and she turned away, placing a hand over her mouth. She cleared her throat, "She hasn't slept a whole entire night since… then. She wakes up screaming and she's convinced that there is a lady crying. That a crying lady killed her brother and that she's after her now. All of us. I just… I just don't know what to do!"

Delaney watched as Patricia turned back to her, eyes full of tears. She ran a desperate hand through her long straight red hair and continued, "We moved here to start new. To forget about all of the problems we had to face because of my ex-husband. Their father. I was married again, Emily was making friends and now my son's dead and I don't know what happened to him. I didn't hear him scream. I didn't save him, I had no idea anything was wrong. And my family's falling apart and just like I couldn't do anything to keep Jason alive, alive for Emily, I can't find any possible reason why anyone would do something like this. How could someone do that to my baby? To my boy?"

Patricia burst into tears, sinking into the armchair by the large living room window. Delaney stepped closer to her, timidly placing a hand on hers.

"I promise I'll do what I can to help you know what happened to your son," she murmured hit with the sudden desire to tell her everything. That she wasn't anywhere near a psychic. That she was a hunter and that she could stop this thing. She knew Patricia O'Malley was having a hard time believing a psychic could possibly do anything, she also knew that she couldn't possibly take her being a hunter any easier but she knew it was a teensy bit more believable. "I... I just want to help. And I'm begging you to give me that opportunity."

Patricia looked up slowly, letting go of Delaney's hand and watching her carefully.

Delaney knelt in front of her and folded her hands neatly in her own lap, "I… I've helped a lot of people with what I do. It's hard to believe and I get that. I'm asking you not to send me away."

"Why do you… you've taken so much more interest in this than other people. I can tell the police are starting to give up on my case. Why is it that you care so much?"

Delaney gave her a soft half-smile and her thin shoulders moved in a tentative shrug, "I… I can relate."

"Y-you've lost… I'm sorry."

"It's all in the past now."

"Thank you. For everything. I don't think there's much else to do anymore but thank you for caring."

"You're welcome, Patricia. Just take care of yourself, okay?" Delaney stood up slowly and neared the sofa to get her bag. "I have to uh… I have to go somewhere. I'll check on you later, Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Patricia stood up, sniffing and wiping at her face. "I'm so sorry about Emily. She's never been like this. I… I-'ve tried taking her to child therapists. Grief therapists. She just doesn't want to let this thing about that lady go. It's… its killing her."

"It's fine. I understand. Thank you for tea," Delaney murmured giving Patricia a small smile at the door then heading down the porch steps.

"Do you…"

Delaney turned, waiting for the rest of her words.

Patricia struggled for words and the pained look on her face made Delaney slightly uncomfortable, "Do you… do you think you can solve this? Do you think you can figure out what happened to my son?"

Delaney hesitated, "I… I hope so,"

….

Dean wasn't going to feel anything. He was going to let go. He was going to take the hot girl he had in his lap home and he wasn't going to feel anything the whole night.

"Don't you think we should do this anywhere else besides your car?" The girl purred into his ear, pressing herself harder against him. Dean could smell the alcohol on her breath and the shampoo in her hair.

She wrapped her legs tighter against his waist and buried her face against his neck. Her raspy breath tickled his neck as she slowly moved her face up against his ear. He felt the tip of her tongue trace his earlobe then her lips.

Dean ran his hands up and down her thighs as the music played on the Impala radio. They were parked outside of an old park a few blocks away from his motel room. He decided he didn't want to go through the trouble of taking her to the motel room. He'd just get it over with in his car, drop her off, and head back to the motel for his stuff.

He'd taken care of the werewolf as easy as a ghost. A silver bullet to the heart. Piece of cake. He'd gotten away with only a dislocated shoulder (which he'd popped back in himself) and a broken finger.

"Baby, it shouldn't matter where." Dean ran a hand under her shirt and up her smooth soft back, feeling the clasp of her bra.

The girl raised her mouth to his, playing with it. She ran her tongue on the edges of his lips then slowly bit the lower one, tugging at it with her teeth, "I thought I at least deserved a motel room."

She ran a hand up his chest, then back down settling on slowly moving her hand under his jacket and by his-.

Dean realized to late where her hand was heading and before he could tug her away, she froze, her eyes going wide at the feel of a thick cold metal object.

Dean would've said shit aloud but he didn't find it at all helpful in that situation, "I'm a… a cop."

The girl started to move off of him, careful that he wouldn't lash out at her. When she realized he wasn't going to hurt her, she moved faster, grabbing her bag from the dashboard.

"Come on, Linda. I wasn't gonna-"

"St-tay away from me you psycho!" Her voice shook as she stumbled out of the Impala from the passenger side door.

Dean watched her walk away quickly, keeping a quick pace in case he wanted to go after her.

Dean sighed, removing his gun from the inside of his jacket and letting it drop next to him, annoyed like hell.

There went his lay. And his distraction.

Song(s) for this chapter: Howlin' for you by the Black keys: Last scene

* * *

><p><strong><em>Okay, first of all: I know I don't deserve a SINGLE review this time and if I don't get even one, I won't whine or anything. I deserve it. But listen to my excuse first.<em>**

**_I did get a lot accomplished on my leave or whatever you wanna call it. Break. Review-time. Well anyway, I did go over a lot of my chapters and come up with new ideas that I can't WAIT for you guys to read._**

**_Oh and one more excuse: I have been super busy with school! High school is nuts, man. Nuts I tell you! Well anyway, I will be updating even more often now that I have my whole scheduling down and the feel for school again. Probably... next sunday. Yeah, that sounds fine._**

**_Thanks to all of you! Thank you so much and an even super amazingly big thank you to Kinthinia! For being so gentle with me and Girl, anytime you need to rant just PM me. Same goes for my spectacular devoted readers!  
>Lots of Love! <em>**


	8. Confused: Tarboro, Edgecombe County, NC

Chapter Eight: Confused

Tarboro, North Carolina Mill Motel August 20, 2003 Delaney: 22

"You know, I really love talking to you, Bobby. You make me tingle all over and giggle like crazy," Delaney picked at the chicken sandwich in front of her.

The motel room was the simplest it could get. One kitchen table with two chairs, a sink, a fridge, a mini restroom, a TV, and a bed. She was sitting in one of the chairs, her mother's laptop and her lunch in front of her.

She'd headed into town after her visit at the O'Malley house and dug into the police headquarters for the autopsy report on Jason O'Malley. She hadn't felt exactly at ease entering the Police department. She'd been very lucky so far, she had never been arrested and that was something she was proud of. Even when Bobby teased her for it.

She didn't like cops and she tried her best to stay on their good side.

She'd gotten the autopsy report easily enough and had headed back to her motel for her long day of researching.

Delaney had known well enough that no Banshee had been ever known to kill. She hadn't known anyone who had encountered anything like that. She'd gone over her mother's journal to find her mom had dealt with several in her hunting years. Her mother hadn't done anything to get rid of them because there really wasn't anything wrong with a banshee being there. Her mom had checked back stories anyway, making sure nothing would be able to backfire or harm anyone.

And after a frustrating thirty minutes of trying to find any information she could possibly use for the Banshee she'd decided to just call Bobby, mister know-it-all.

"_Shut up. Did you talk to the family?_"

"Yes, the mother."

"_What'd you use as your cover?_"

"Psychic," Delaney smiled, waiting for Bobby's reaction. She took a drink of her water, placing the medical examiner's report aside.

"_You would pass as a psychic. What'd she let loose?_"

"Nothin'. Not much. The littler girl, though, she was somethin'. Went hysterical. Turns out the little girl saw the Banshee herself. Said she was pretty. Dark eyes and dark hair. The mother and the little girl had been out at the doctor's and since there was some type of flu or something going around it was full. Well, it took them awhile to get in to see the doc and after it took them awhile to get home. When the mother got home her son wasn't in the house. She assumed he was out by the river and since they hadn't talked much since they'd moved out here, she didn't make much of it. Emily heard the scream first, I guess she was outside too or something because Mrs.O'Malley was in the kitchen and she says she didn't hear a thing."

"_The little girl saw her?_"

"Yeah. Said she had a scar. Banshees weren't real people, right? I thought they were magical entities. I wasn't sure if they were human before."

"_They usually aren't. I'm not sure but what from I've read they've been thought to be the spirits of women who died in childbirth. Or like you said, supernatural entities. In Ireland they were mostly known as a "spirit of the family." They were known to only mourn for the death of one of the family members._"

"So which one is it?"

"_Oh, and then there's the fact that they were also thought to be a devil that would wail for the souls lost to her, familial guardian angels, souls of unbaptized children, even the souls of women who committed the sin of pride in life. Some even believed they were the spirits of ladies that had been paid in life to cry over important community figures._"

"The more people that cried the better people they were, right?"

"_Yeah, so they're insincere weeping condemned them to crying for the rest of their afterlife. And all for a bottle of wine._"

"How would we get rid of these things?"

"_It depends on what it is. I don't know if it's a Gaelic fairy being or a un-baptized bastard._"

"It's a banshee, Bobby. How would you kill a Banshee?"

"_I don't know. There's never been a need to kill them before._"

"Come to think of it… how are we so sure it's the Banshee killing? Maybe the little girl just saw the Banshee and something else killed the boy? Someone else? Or maybe it was just an accident? The swampland around the river is pretty dangerous and the medical examiner's report says damage to the neck. He could've tripped and landed on his neck. This couldn't even be a supernatural problem, Bobby."

"_You said the little girl was scared, Delaney. Convinced the thing was coming for her next. This is something you're going to have to kill. Huh,"_ Bobby gave a chuckle.

"What?"

"_From what I hear, this thing is crying for the person dying then killing it? Kind of funny._"

"How's that funny? That's just plain sick. And anyway, you might be wrong."

"_I'm never wrong. But by the sound of things you're going to have to go back and talk to the kid. And ask around about their family history. When they moved there, why. All of that. Eliminate which type of banshee this thing is. I'll dig up on the history of the land around the town and the river._"

"Bobby, it doesn't matter what it was during its life time! Whether a uh… drunk who cried to make the big people in town seem like they were loved o-or a woman killed during child-birth! It's a banshee now so what we need to do is look for what can kill this hag!"

"_I'll work on it. You just do what I say. It won't hurt. Call me once you've talked to the girl._"

"You know how many times you've told me that and I've broken countle- Bobby? Bobby?"

…

August 21, 2003

"Really? And you don't believe that?"

"I don't know what to believe. I just… I get this feeling that it… I don't know. I'm just not sure if that was what happened to him. But the police closed the case as an accident. And uh…. I suppose it was."

Delaney observed Patricia closely. She could see it on her face. She wanted to believe that her son's death had been an unfortunate event, a bad placing of the foot, an accident. She just wanted peace for her and her family and Delaney didn't blame her. But Delaney would've thought that Patricia, no matter how bad she wanted it to be over, it all to be solved, still would've fought for the truth.

"My son is at peace and… well, so should we."

"Are you sure, Patricia? Are you sure that's what happened to your son? Because if you have any shred of doubt-"

"I-I'm sure. And… well, my son's gone now so all I can do is put my family back together. Thank you for everything, Maribel. Really. But there isn't much for you to do."

Delaney was stumped. She'd known Patricia hadn't believed in her supposed abilities in the least but she'd been polite enough and at some point desperate enough, to at least let her try to help. She was permanently dismissing her now.

"Patricia, I..." Delaney trailed off, a thought striking her. Maybe this was for the best. She could work on killing the thing without interruption from the family, now. But sometimes it was better for the family to at least know there was danger, at least know there was something wrong. She couldn't do anything now, though. Patricia was set on putting it behind her. She was thinking of her family.

Patricia watched her carefully, waiting for her to continue.

Delaney was debating whether to finally let her think she was leaving her alone or to continue fighting for the fact that this hadn't been an accident. The banshee hadn't attacked since then, if it had even attacked at all. Maybe this was out of the deep water and maybe it had been an accident. All in all, she was still going to make sure.

"You're right. I'm glad that you have made peace with all of this. I am certain your son is at peace," Delaney neared Patricia who was standing in front of the living room sofa, by the old fireplace. She gave her a brief hug and turned to pick up her bag.

What a load of crap.

She wasn't sure if she'd made the right choice, letting Patricia think everything was okay now. That they were out of danger. She hoped she'd made the right choice.

"Thank you. For the support."

Delaney couldn't help but think "Because, so far, that's all I've been able to do. Give you support." And it was frustrating her. She couldn't understand this hunt and it was starting to piss her off.

"You're welcome. But… uhh… do you mind if I speak to Emily? The other day I was too shocked to say anything and I want to let her know its all okay."

"Sure. I'll take you to her room."

They climbed the stairs, taking a short left to another flight of stairs. "This house, was it in the family? Or did you just move here?"

"Yeah, actually. It was. A year or two ago my uncle died. My grandma didn't have the heart to stay in the house so she… well she passed away too and she left the house to me."

"I'm sorry. Were you close to them?"

"No, I barely knew them. My mother and father moved me very young to Florida and that's where I grew up and got married. I never visited here, maybe once or twice as a child. My father didn't fit well with either of them. My uncle was… well he wasn't the best man. He never got a job after the whole court scene with the family of a girl he had supposedly… uhmm… well murdered and raped."

Delaney tried her best not to stop walking, "Really?"

"Yes. I don't know if he did it. My mother and father talked about it several times when I was growing up. I think it happened when they were really young though. I think my father was twenty and my uncle eighteen. He was never convicted for it, no matter how many times the family of the girl tried to reopen the case. In the end it was left unsolved. The town hatred got so big for my uncle and my father that as soon as he got the chance, my father left with my mom. My uncle had nowhere to go and the whole thing stopped him from getting a job so he stayed here. Eventually, my grandmother passed away from old age and my uncle of a heart attack."

"Do you think it was… possible your uncle would have done something like that?"

"I'm not sure. I'd only met the man a couple of times and my father never really talked about him. But the few times I did see him… well… he did give me this weird vibe. And I know it's bad to… well say anything of the like but I think he might've been able to. He was a scary man. At least from how I saw him."

Patricia stopped at the end of the hallway and slowly inched open the door they'd stopped at. She stepped in, only turning back slightly to give Delaney the "Come on in" nod.

The room was a wide spacious place full of things that Delaney had never had as a child. At the far side of the room was a large bed with a light pink bedspread and many stuffed animals littered over it. Next to it was a simple bedside table and an old wooden rocking chair. There was a window seat by the bed and against the right wall, was a dresser.

Emily was sitting on the window seat in what looked like Hello Kitty pajamas. She had her arms wrapped around the same teddy bear as the other day.

She didn't look up as they entered so Patricia stopped next to her, "Baby, Maribel came to see you. Remember her? She was trying to help us."

Emily didn't react and Patricia just retreated back to where Delaney was, "I'll leave you two alone. Please be gentle with her. Maybe you could get her to open up."

"I will. Thank you."

Once the door had closed Delaney continued to look around the room, observing the many Hello Kitty related things.

"I always liked pink but don't tell anyone." Delaney knew she sounded super awkward but she'd never had much communication with little girls. She wasn't sure how to treat them since she'd never properly acted like a little girl anyway.

Emily didn't answer, continuing to stare out the window. Delaney stopped near the bed and took a seat. "I brought you something."

She looked through her bag, looking and feeling for the small frame. When she found it she gently placed it on the bedside table. "You dropped your photo yesterday. I straightened it out and bought a frame. Pretty, huh? I chose blue because the water in the background looked blue."

Emily looked up at the frame then slowly turned away.

Delaney hadn't bought the frame to get the poor kid to talk. That had only been a faint thought at the back of her head when she'd scouted through the old store outside of Tarboro. She'd just wanted Emily to keep the picture.

"You know, I have brothers too. Well, maybe they aren't really my brothers but they'd been something like it for a long time. I know if I'd seen something like what you saw take one of them, I would have reacted the same way."

As she heard that, she turned to Delaney her eyes wide, "Y-you… you believe me?"

Delaney nodded, "Yes. I do. I believe you, Emily. Can you tell me what she looked like? Can you tell me what you heard and what you saw that night?"

Emily slowly and quietly, unfisted her hands from in between the fur of her bear but didn't speak.

"Can you please do that for me?"

"The police say it was an accident. But… it wasn't."

Delaney waited for her to continue, growing strongly attentive. Everything Emily was going to tell her she needed to know.

"I know it wasn't. I… I saw her. By the river. She was singing. And washing. She was washing Jason's jacket. And i-it had blood. She heard me step on a branch and she just… she was crying. I got scared so I ran. But after that, I heard Jason. I was so scared. I wanted to go back home. But Jason was in trouble, so I ran. I went to where I had heard him scream. He was on the ground… he wasn't breathing or moving and the lady was just standing next to him, smiling. I should've stayed with him," Emily struggled to continue. Her lower lip was trembling badly. "I should've helped him. But I knew she was going to come for me next. I ran. I ran home and I told my mom and dad. They called the police and I told them everything but they didn't believe me."

"What does she look like? Everything you remember."

"She was wearing a red dress. It was torn and dirty in a lot of places. She had a long necklace. With a small bird."

"And she still cries? At night."

"Not in a while but I dream she does. And I know she's going to again. I know she's going to do something to William. I know she is."

"Who's William?"

"My mom's friend. He's supposed to be coming today. The lady doesn't like boys. She hates them. Please don't let her hurt him. Please."

"I won't, Emily. I won't let her. But what did she do to your brother? How did he… die?"

"She pushed him. He fell really hard against one of the rocks. She did it. Just don't let her hurt anyone else. Don't let her hurt my dad."

"I won't, Emily. I'll stop this. Just don't tell your mother. She won't understand. I'll stop her, Emily. I promise. Maybe tonight. Don't be scared because I'm going to be out there, okay? I'll be keeping an eye out."

"No! Don't go out there at night, Maribel! Please! She'll hurt you!" Emily ran to her, saying all of this loudly.

"Shhh. She can't hurt me. I have an advantage that won't let her hurt me."

"What's that?" she whispered.

"I'm psychic. Some psychics can't be hurt by things like that lady. I'm one of them."

"Really?"

"Yes. So I'll be fine. You, just take care of yourself and your mommy. Make sure that no matter what you hear, none of you are supposed to go outside. Don't let your dad or William outside, okay?"

Emily nodded shakily then retreated back so she was sitting on the carpet, a little away from Delaney.

"You did well, Emily. Thank you for telling me all these things. I promise she won't hurt any of you ever again."

…

"Well, this wasn't an accident, that's for sure. According to Emily, this thing was crying at the river. Singing and washing bloody clothes which Emily identified as Jason's football jacket. Emily got scared then ran for the house but before she got there, she heard her brother scream. The little girl ran to where her brother was to find he'd been shoved down by a lady in a ripped dirty red dress. I don't know, Bobby, but this sounds like this thing is killing the very people she's predicting the death about. Like she's a uh… a-a vengeful ghost confessing right before it's even done the killing or something. It's kind of self-destructive. Well, she's already dead but you get my point. This is so many buckets of crazy. I'm not sure this is even a Banshee anymore."

"_I looked up legends and sightings on the place. Turns out the Tar River has been known to have a Banshee for over two hundred years. Ever since the revolutionary war. There's a story that says a man named Dave Warner made a mill on the banks of the Tar River and that he used the grain he produced to feed the young army of rebels. A townsman went to give him wind of the British approaching one day and that they knew the tricks Warner was playin at. Warner wouldn't go so when the British came and before he was murdered he told the British soldiers the Banshee down at the river would make them pay. And right after Warner died something strange happened to the river. All the townspeople gathered to see except the soldiers who were about crapping their pants at that point. They confessed to their army commander what they'd done and the big man made them work at the mill so they could hear the Banshee cry. One by one they died, drowned. And guess what's on the Warner land now._"

"The O'Malley house," Delaney muttered.

"_Yep._"

"Did you find a way to kill it? And do we have any proof this is the same Banshee?"

"_Nope. Nothing but I'm still searching. And why? Why wouldn't it be the same Banshee?_"

"Mrs. O'Malley told me something about her uncle. Said that her father and her uncle grew up here in Edgecombe county and that around the time her uncle was seventeen or eighteen, he raped and murdered a girl. Wasn't convicted but that the town got pretty brutal with her uncle and her father. As soon as her father could get out of the place with his girl, he did. She also said that her uncle died one or two years ago and shortly after so did her grandma. She left her the house and she moved here to start new."

"_I call that some serious bad luck. You think this could be another Banshee or what? I would say more like a vengeful ghost but the thing we're dealing with doesn't show all the characteristics for it. Besides the killing."_

"I don't know, Bobby. Can you just look up more on this girl and Mrs. O'Malley's uncle? And on how to kill this thing?"

"_Yeah, I'll get to it. Have you talked to Dean?_"

"No. Not since I left. Why?" Delaney ran a hand over her face, staring at the turned off TV in front of her. She would've been researching if her lap top hadn't frozen. Now she was stuck waiting for Bobby to get back to her.

"_Just wanted to know how the boy was. You gonna call him?_"

"When I'm not busy."

"_I'm pretty sure you aren't gonna be busy when I hang up._"

"It's my business what I do with my time, Bobby. Thanks for everything."

"_ waiting until tomorrow to head over again?_"

"No. I'm heading back tonight to keep an eye on the place. Looks like they got visitors and Emily said it doesn't like men."

"_Alright. You be careful. I'll tell you when I got something._"

"'kay. Bye."

Delaney hung up and dropped the phone next to her, sighing softly. She was tired and sleepy so instead of changing into her pajamas she just stayed still and closed her eyes.

She was asleep in seconds.

* * *

><p><strong><em>HELLO!<em>**

**_The next Chaptahhhh! Reviews please! Mucho appreciated._**

**_A special thanks to Kinthinia for betaing! Love that girl!_**


	9. Into the Dark Dark Wood: Tarboro, NC

Chapter nine: Into the dark dark wood

Just outside of Tarboro, North Carolina. Camping out behind the O'Malley house. August21, 2003. Around ten thirty at night Delaney: 22

Delaney never would've thought a forest at night could freak her out so much. And not just because there was a psycho banshee lady camping around in it and killing people. The forest was scary all on its own.

She was parked behind the house, near the small garage/barn that occupied some of the clear land before it turned more swampy and rocky as it neared the river. Her headlights were off and as much as she had complained to herself about having to do it, her car had been turned off. She was starting to sweat, even with the windows halfway down and with the folder she was using to fan herself.

She'd been scoping out for a while and at some point, the heat of her leather jacket had bothered her. She was actually considering whether getting naked was a good idea but she didn't think she'd be able to get dressed in under five seconds if something bad happened.

She hated the heat. She'd grown up in Vermont after all and there had never been much heat there. When she'd gone to Texas, man, it had felt like bloody murder. Hot for them was in the 100s. In Vermont hot was in the 80s. She'd at least forgotten the heat in Texas after she'd tasted the burgers. She'd figured it compensated.

The hoots and chirps emanating from the trees had been enough to get her on edge at first. She'd gotten used to the unexplained noises after the first hour and had calmed down enough to not have her hand at her waistband the whole time.

She'd loaded herself with weapons mostly because she had no idea what could work on the mopey bitch and Bobby still hadn't called her. She had a knife stuck in each boot, her favorite handgun at the waistband of her jeans, another silver dagger strapped to the inner side of her left forearm, and a flask of holy water in her back pocket along with her phone.

She'd been thinking over the whole case intensely when a sharp crack of a branch startled her, making her drop the file in her hand. The papers scattered all over the place sliding down in between the seat and landing at her feet. She held her breath, reaching for her gun.

She looked out of the passenger side window, since it was on the side of the trees, and watched the dark area that led into the big bad wolf's territory.

The shadows that dominated the place didn't let her see much since the lights that came from the house were only enough to illuminate until the edge of the flat land.

She watched the trees closely, not exactly convinced the Banshee or whatever it was would approach the house but ready to jump out and protect it like a watchdog. She didn't see anything besides the dark swaying trees and didn't hear anything besides the crickets and the friendly but still creepy forest animals.

"Where's Snow White when you need her. She could at least get those chipmunks to sing a song or something," Delaney leaned back, chuckling at her own joke.

The thud of a hand falling on the roof of her car made her jump, and she reached again for her gun. She turned to her window to find a man's angry face staring in.

The man looked human and not like any Banshee or ghost she had ever seen so she just swore quietly and made sure her gun wasn't sticking out. She rolled down the already slightly opened driver's seat window and gave a nervous smile.

"What are you doing on this property?" The man's face alone was enough to disconcert her.

Delaney tried to think of something and just as she was about to wing it, the man spoke again, "Is that… Is that a knife?"

Delaney instinctively looked down at the dagger strapped to her forearm and cursed quietly. She'd forgotten to put on her jacket. She reached for it quickly and began to put it on.

"Listen here, lady. You get off of this property or I'm calling the police."

"I work with the police!" Delaney blurted out. "I was assigned to keep an eye on the place in case someone tries to hurt you guys."

"What? You mean Jason's case? It was accident. Why would the police assign you a case where the victim tripped?"

"They weren't exactly sure."

"They closed the case already. Boy, you're a bad liar."

"I have identification. I'm a fed." Delaney slid over to the passenger side and slowly opened the compartment. She made sure the man couldn't see anything and carefully opened the small box of fake Ids she had stuffed in it. She closed it then turned back to the man. She held up her badge. "See? I'm not some creep watching your house to get my freak on. Are you Mrs.O'Malley's husband?"

"No. I'm her close friend, William. Can I see that?"

Delaney relented, sliding back over and handing the man the badge. He examined it closely than handed it back. "Well… umm… I apologize. I work for a law firm so I'm instinctively paranoid. How old are you?"

Delaney caught the suspicious look in his eye and smiled brightly, "How old do I look?"

The man's green eyes softened and he chuckled, "Really young. I would've sworn you were around twenty, twenty one. There's no way you can be a fed that young."

"Wow. I'm actually twenty-six. I can't believe it. Must be all those Vietnamese facials."

"How long have you been keeping an eye out?"

"Not long."

"You should've come in for some coffee or something. It also would've helped if you'd told us you were gonna be out here."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Well, I should get going. The place seems a-okay. Call the town police department if you see or hear anything in the least strange." She needed to get out of there, quick. Or at least make him think she'd gone away but keep watch from another more secluded place.

"Will do."

"William?"

Delaney instantly recognized the soft timid voice and closed her eyes, cursing her life. Tonight was not going good.

"Who is that?"

"A fed's been keeping an eye on the place. Guess you were right the place felt like it was being watched."

"Why would they be watching the place?" Delaney heard the footsteps coming nearer and slowly opened her eyes to see Patricia standing there. Her eyes went wide when she saw Delaney. And then slowly they turned into hard blue crystals. "Maribel?"

William turned to Patricia, confused.

"Get out of the car." Patricia demanded tightly, already opening the driver's side door.

"Patricia, I can explain."

"Damn well, you can't! Get out of the car or I'm calling the cops." Patricia started to reach in but Delaney carefully evaded her, holding her palms outwards in a sign of defeat.

"Okay, okay. Just let me explain."

"What's going on?" William looked back and forth in between them, eyes wide. "Pat, she's a fed. She's been looking over the place."

"So that's what you told him, huh? Because I specifically remember you telling me you were some psychic from farther down in North Carolina willing to help my case and that you didn't work for the police." Patricia was furious, her lips trembling in rage.

Delaney stepped out of the car, ready in case Patricia decided to fling herself at her. She sure looked like she was ready to punch someone.

"Wait, I don't understand. Pat… you know her?" William asked, placing one hand on his head and turning to Delaney.

"Yes. But she's no fed and I'm starting to think she isn't even a psychic." Patricia stepped forward, stopping in front of Delaney. "How dare you come into my house and speak to me about my son, saying you're willing to help me? How _dare_ you put such nonsense in my daughter's head? She wouldn't even let us out tonight to just check the cars were locked! You better have a pretty good explanation. What'd you take, huh? My jewelry?My silver?"

The disgust that filled her voice was enough to make Delaney stutter. "I d-didn't take anything okay? I really do want to help you! Your daughter isn't lying, Patricia. There really is something in those woods and it's coming for you next! For William! For your hus-"

The force of the slap made Delaney's eyes water and before Patricia could inflict another one, William grabbed her from behind and held her back.

"I let you into my house, you disgusting lying bitch! And now you come to me with all this shit? My daughter's terrified because of you! I hope you rot in hell!"

"Pat! Pat! Relax!" William wrapped his arms tightly around her then turned to Delaney. "Go. Or I'm calling the cops."

"Listen to me. I'm not a fed. I'm not a psychic. Not even close. But your daughter is right, Patricia. Your son didn't die because of an accident and deep inside you know it! There's this bitch inside the forest and she's coming for you next. Just… listen to me. My real name is Delaney Mannings and I kill those things. The things like that monster your daughter saw! You don't have to believe me. I just want you to go inside of your house and lock all of the doors." Delaney said this quickly, stepping closer to Patricia.

Patricia had calmed down enough that William had let her go even though he was still keeping a close eye on her. They were both staring at Delaney with angry, surprised eyes.

"What are you talking about? My son died from an accident! That's it!"

"You know that's not it, Patricia! Nothing's changed!" Delaney grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look at her. "I still want to help you but with stopping this thing from hurting the rest of your family!"

"No, that's not true." Patricia stared at her with wide eyes. "You're sick. You need help. There are no such things as monsters."

"Then you believe your son's death was an accident? Do you, Patricia? Because if you do, stare me straight in the eye and tell me. Come on! Tell me."

Patricia went silent, face terrified. Then slowly her face hardened and she shook Delaney's hands off. She stepped back and pointed to Delaney's Chevelle. "Go. And don't ever come back. Because I swear to God I'll…"

Delaney knew she was only speaking that way because she was scared but she couldn't leave them to their own devices and just as she was about to speak, Patricia's face contorted in terror and she let out an ear-blasting scream.

Delaney removed the gun from her waistband in the time it took her to spin around to where Patricia had been looking. She froze, eyes wide, taking in what was in front of her.

A beautiful black haired, brown eyed lady stood behind William, her pale smooth hand wrapped around William's neck. The dress she had on gave Delaney the feeling it should have been longer but it was ripped unevenly in places and dirt was staining it. She had the reddest lips Delaney had seen and the most frightening eyes. They were full of a silent fury and determination.

Delaney looked into them, frozen. That was no Banshee. That was a ghost.

William caught his breath; eyes wide and all too quickly, released a blood-curling scream. Delaney lunged forward, not sure what she would be able to use on the ghost since she had nothing that would work, on her. And she didn't have time to get her shot gun from the car.

The blood pounding in her ears wasn't enough to drown out the incoherent screams and whimpers Patricia was giving a few feet behind her.

Delaney grabbed onto William, facing the ghost face to face. She aimed a punch at it although she knew it probably wouldn't be able to cause any damage. Before the punch landed, Delaney felt a blunt force fling her backwards.

She had been grabbing onto William so tightly that when she flew back, she felt her long nails graze his arm and the tip of one of her nails break off. She landed with a thud on the ground, her eyesight going blurry for a moment. Her head hit the ground with a small almost silent sound but it hurt like a bitch.

She sat up immediately, and it seemed like Patricia's screams were getting louder. She focused on the two figures in front of her and just as her eyesight cleared, she saw the evil smirk the girl was giving her. And right below it, a flash of light blinded her momentarily. She caught a flash of a small bird and a silver chain.

Before she could struggle to her feet, William was dragged off like a hostage, a pale arm around his neck and his legs flailing uselessly underneath him, leaving drag marks of upturned grass and dirt behind.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! What the hell was that?"

Delaney scrambled to her feet, nearly falling to the ground again. She started forward but she felt Patricia grab her arm.

"That was- a-a… Oh my god!"

"Go inside, Patricia! Make a line of salt at each door and at the windows! It can't get past the salt! I'm gonna go after William." Delaney pulled out her gun and realizing she needed her shot gun, rushed to her car. She pulled the door open and reached over the seat. She smacked the seat twice and literally yanked the cabinet out. She reached deeper into the cabinet for her shot gun and pulled it out. She scrambled for the rock-salt bullets and stuck a handful into her pocket. She grabbed as much as fit into her small hand then shoved the drawer back in. She climbed out, her elbow smacking hard into the car wheel. She cursed but slammed the driver's side door closed and quickly rounded to the passenger's side.

She opened the door and reached under the seat, feeling for the large bag of salt. She rushed to Patricia and handed it to her.

Patricia took it absently and watched Delaney, her eyes misting over, the shock having not worn out yet. It was a lot to take in at one moment but Delaney had no time.

"Patricia! You hear me? Salt the doorways and the windows. Any possible entrance. Patricia!"

Delaney didn't slap her to return the favor although in any other circumstance she might've but to get her attention back to the situation.

Patricia placed a hand on her cheek and looked up at her. "W-what?Salt? How the hell is salt gonna help against that t-thing?"

"Just trust me! You have to keep your family safe! Don't come out for anything, okay? For anything!" Delaney ran towards the edge of the woods and took out her cell phone.

"What about you? It'll… it'll hurt you." Patricia's eyes were full of tears and she was trying hard to suppress her sobs. She looked about ready to run and Delaney was okay with that, if it meant she ran in the direction of the house.

Delaney turned to face her, speaking quickly, "I'll be fine. This is my job. You just let me get William back safe and sound. Go! I'll cover you."

Patricia nodded shakily although Delaney knew she was dying to ask more questions

Well, preferably not dying, Delaney thought.

Patricia ran quickly to the house, not once turning back to check if Delaney still had her gun raised in midair with one hand, ready for anything, and her cell phone in her other hand.

She dialed Bobby's number and as soon as she saw the house door close she turned to the woods and plunged into it.

* * *

><p><strong><em>I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm SOOOOOOO Sorry, honestly. My beta didn't get this back to me after a while then I thought she STILL hadn't sent it to me so right when I was about to message her once again to get it back to me I found it and then I got distracted with some projects I had due and then I forgot about it for a week or two. Oh and then I think I accidentally deleted the beta'd chapter so this is my chapter with no beta help, not because she didn't get it back to me but because I lost it. MAMA MIA! I know, I know. No excuses so I am very sorry. But I will update at least one more time during this break and hopefully alot during the christmas break.<em>**

**_Reviews please... _**

**_:)_**


	10. Taking some for the team: Tarboro, NC

Chapter ten: Taking some for the Team

Tarboro, North Carolina In the woody swampy area near the Tar River. August 21 almost 22, 2003 Delaney: 22

"_A ghost?"_

"Yes, Bobby. A ghost. And the damn bitch took William. That little…" Delaney trailed off, the sound beneath her feet changing from the cracking of twigs to the sickening slurp of mud whatever else that was on the ground, coming off on her boots.

It was so hard to see that late and Delaney was getting really pissed off that she couldn't even see where her feet were landing. She'd almost tripped twice, the ground beneath her feet having the habit of turning from hard rocky soil to sticky gooey mess that seemed like it could swallow her ant moment. And occasionally, the puddle of water that scared the hell out of her because she expected to sink into a lake.

Everywhere she turned it look the same and partly because she couldn't see much. The moon peeked over a tree every once in a while but not enough. The sounds of critters seemed like a constant thing and she was really hoping she didn't feel anything crawling up her pant leg.

"_You sure?_'

"I don't know, Bobby! She only flinged me away from her like… what's that thing that's left after a person dies and decides not to move on? Oh yeah! A _ghost_!"

"_No need to get your panties in a knot._"

"Oh, screw you!"

"_What, and you want me to figure out where she's buried?_"

"Yes! And a hell of a lot quickly before she kills William! God, this was never a damn banshee, Bobby! What is wrong with this bitch!" Delaney muttered all of this quietly, but the force and anger in her voice was still prominent. "She couldn't just act like a fuckin' ghost?"

"_We don't know who she is, though._"

Delaney stopped in her tracks, her angry muttering falling silent.

"_Delaney? You there?_'

"Remember I told you about that girl Patricia's uncle was supposed to have raped and murdered?"

"_You think that's her?"_

"It better be or I'm gonna murder ever- ahhh!"

Delaney's foot hit what felt like a rock in the middle of the muddy ground and she didn't have enough time to reach out for the nearest tree. She fell face forward into a pile of mushy gooeyness and groaned as her gun was knocked out of her hand. All too suddenly, a dull ache began in her right shoulder, her best arm.

In her left hand, her phone had remained intact and she could hear Bobby's voice by her ear. She moaned when she slightly moved her right shoulder. She instinctively tried to stretch her arm out but immediately realized it was a bad idea when pain shot through her whole arm and shoulder. She placed it down slowly, whimpering as pulses of pain blinded her. Either it was broken or she'd dislocated it.

She raised the phone to her ear with her other hand and muttered,"I still hate the woods."

…

"William!"

Her voice was echoed back at her, the sound of it slowly fading away into the darkness was enough to, she thought, drive anyone insane.

She knew she wasn't alone and for once, that was a frightening idea. She could just imagine the small yellow peeping eyes keeping a watch, following her every move and measuring the agility in her legs and arms.

One arm was crippled but that didn't mean she still couldn't kick ass. She was so angry at that point she was hoping the ghost would come at her.

Bobby hadn't made it any better. When she'd explained to him what had happened, he hadn't laughed, oh no. But she could hear the damn smile in his voice. And she knew he'd be chuckling as he searched for the ghost's identity.

"I just had to trip and fall, huh? I couldn't have brought a damn flashlight! Oh, I hope that damn bitch does come at me! I could finally wring her crazy little neck in between my…"

Delaney fell silent, her feet slowing to a stop. The soft gurgling of the river that she knew she was going to approach at some point caught her ears. The trees were thinning and she noticed the ground went into a slant, downward, to the very edge of the river. She could see the water twinkling in between the trees and she had to admit to herself that it looked kind of beautiful. Once you could get past the creepy air it gave you.

She held her breath and carefully stepped forward, gripping her shot gun in her left hand. She wasn't as good a shot with her left hand but it would do. It had to.

The fresh crisp smell the river emanated made her feel slightly more relaxed in a way she didn't understand. She broke through the trees, carefully walking down the edge of the higher level of forest land and groaned when the movement jostled her right arm.

"You _would_ fall, Delaney," She muttered to herself and straightened up.

The river wasn't a strong one; the current was passing slowly and serenely. It was longer than the streams she'd encountered and wider. The other side of the river was covered with the same trees. The whole length of it was clear and well-maintained. The areas close to the very edge of the river had been cleared of any long weeds or rocks. She assumed it was so nobody could trip and fall in.

Delaney stood as far away from the edge of the river as she could get without heading back into the trees and looked around closely. No one was in sight. Not even a psycho ghost.

"Uhh… I'm here. And I know what you're doing and you better stop your shit. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and God help me, I'm not pissing my pants 'cause of you. I don't know what the hell anyone did to you but I'm sick of it, and I bet it gets boring too. I'll send you packing the nice way if you let me or I'll just get rid of you like I've had to get rid of all the damn ghosts I've faced in my life."

She felt stupid talking aloud but most of all, she felt like cussing the damn thing out. She walked farther down the river, her gun slack in her hand. She wouldn't say she wasn't scared because she'd been scared every since she could remember. Fear was good. It kept you on the balls of your feet. She'd just learned how to keep the fear somewhat in check.

Delaney went silent, listening closely for the ghost. The soft gurgling of the river and the rustle of leaves was all she could hear.

"Come on! You want payback against the innocent family? Because nobody did anything for you back then? Not on my watch. Not as long as I live."

The sound of strangled pained sobs reached her and Delaney spun around, her gun aimed straight in front of her. Her right foot slid on mud framing the river but she managed to remain upright. Her eyes were firmly caught on the thin pale figure kneeling beside the river, a few meters from her.

The ghost from earlier was gripping something blue in her mangled bloody hands. She was rocking back and forth, tears pouring down her face; some of her hair was stuck to her cheeks and seeping into her mouth.

Delaney held her breath, her eyes emotionless and careful. She stepped forward slowly but didn't shoot. She took a quick second to look for William but he was nowhere.

Delaney listened quietly to the cries and shrieks it was giving and when the ghost moved, Delaney cocked the gun. It didn't come at her but gently splayed out the thing in its trembling hands onto the surface of the river water.

Delaney knew she should have shot the ghost already but she was curious. It hadn't come at her and that was beginning to confuse her. It was crying like a… like a Banshee.

Then, when the blue fabric was splayed out so it floated on the water Delaney understood. It was the summer dress she had been wearing the day before.

Then confusingly, before her eyes, instead of the water being absorbed into the thin dress it slowly turned red. Delaney didn't have trouble figuring out what that meant.

The ghost stopped sobbing and looked up at her with a lifeless dead gaze. Delaney stepped back.

"Well, hell."

The loud shot of the shot gun drowned out the shriek the Banshee made. Delaney didn't have time to celebrate her great shot before she was running back to the trees. She scrambled up the dipping land area, and memories of scrambling up a slide at Bobby's flashed in her memory.

She passed her shot gun to her right hand, ignoring the pain that shot through it and with her left hand, grabbed a low hanging branch. She pulled herself up, her feet scrambling to find a steady piece of land, all the movement she was making was jostling her hurt arm and it took her a while to realize she was whimpering and gasping like a wounded dog. When she pulled herself up she began to run, eyes watering from pain, muttering to herself, "Just a little bruise, just a little bruise." But there was no fucking way it was just a bruise.

She passed the shot gun back to her left hand and carefully folded her right arm so it lay against her stomach, her fist under her left arm.

She had more than enough breath to call out to William but her attempts were never answered. She wasn't sure if the thing had managed to hurt William in the little time Delaney had been able to get it angry but her only bet right now was to head back to the house and figure out things from there.

She jumped over a fallen branch and continued running, the leaves crunching under her feet. She could feel the mud from earlier when she'd fallen and hurt her shoulder, drying on her cheeks and the dirt in her hair was beginning to make her scalp itchy. There was a burning sensation bothering her knees and she could only guess it was from trying to climb up the river ledge.

She was surprised the ghost hadn't come at her yet and she was hoping it wouldn't until she could kill it for sure.

She could distinctly see the edge of the trees coming on and the light that was let off from the O'Malley house. But before she had reached the edge, something caught her square in the back and she fell forward with a grunt.

Her hurt arm was squashed under her and the uncomfortable position, in which her arm was folded in, made her jerk to get it out. Her left hand felt empty and she grabbed at the forest ground around her for her gun.

Something turned her over and she released a pained breath, when her head fell back with a thump. She opened her eyes and wasn't surprised to see a pale hungry face above hers.

Delaney brought her hand up in a quick motion but not to punch the thing. Salt flashed into the ghost's face and it hissed, retreating. Delaney turned over, using her good arm to get on her feet and in one quick motion picked her gun off of the ground and shot the thing again.

She stumbled towards the edge again, the ache on her back shooting pulses of pain that made her face screw up in pain.

She broke out, not pausing to look back or even call out for William. She hoped she'd be able to save him.

Something crashed into her and she tumbled to the side, swinging her gun upwards and almost shooting.

"Stop! It's me! It's me!" William shouted frantically, his hands held up, palms outward. He had more than one cut framing his face and his shirt was torn in several places, revealing the tan flesh underneath. Delaney had thought he was older than what he looked at the moment. The fear made him look younger, not even in his early thirties.

Delaney released a hurried breath and grabbed William by the arm. She pushed him in front of her but kept a firm grip on his forearm. "In the house! Quick!"

Delaney ran alongside him, her hair whipping around her face, smacking her as she ran. Sweat was beading on her forehead and at the back of her neck. They reached the porch and Delaney passed William, not being able to stop the speed she had been running at and crashing into the front door with the left side of her body. She didn't pause, pounding on the front door.

She turned to check on William who was catching his breath. A dirty hand grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. Delaney aimed her gun but knew she couldn't shoot with William in the way.

William was trying to scream but it seemed like something was stopping him from it. He was gasping and coughing for air like if something was holding him by the neck.

Delaney shoved William out of the way, and he fell to the side. Delaney aimed and shot, making the ghost disappear in a cloud of gun smoke and rock salt.

"It's us! I have William!"

She was so physically exhausted by that point she didn't struggle to pick William up off of the porch but just hissed at him urgently, "Get up! Come on!"

No one was answering the door and she knew she couldn't afford to wait for the ghost to come back so she stepped back and grunted as her foot connected with the door. It didn't budge and just left her leg aching. But she could hear the terrified cries of a little girl.

"Emily!" She neared the door and pressed her face up against it. "Emily! It's me! Open the door! Please! Before it comes back!"

There was the sound of footsteps and a click of the door. Delaney stepped back, finally helping William up who wasn't even speaking or gasping for air anymore. He was as quiet as could be and Delaney figured it was the shock and terror of being grabbed two times by the same annoying ghost.

A tall man opened the door and Delaney was momentarily shocked by how red his hair was. He looked at her with suspicion and fear but behind him a woman stood up and pushed past him. "Oh my God William!"

Patricia pulled the man in, not even stopping to ask how Delaney was. Delaney didn't wait for them to invite her in but just stepped over the line of salt they'd made.

The red-headed man closed the door behind her and locked it with a loud click. He spun to Delaney who was looking around frantically for anything that looked old and that could be connected to the girl. Now that William was okay she had more time to figure things out.

"She has a gun." The man's faced transformed into a furious scowl and walked towards Delaney.

Delaney stepped back, realizing what the man was trying to do. "Whoa, whoa! I'm not the bad one here! And this gun doesn't have normal bullets! These are rock-salt cartridges!"

"Greg, she's good. She won't hurt us." Patricia spoke from her place in the sofa, next to William who she was already attending to, having run to the kitchen for the first aid kit in one of her cabinets.

Greg looked from Patricia to Delaney, with a calculating stare. Delaney didn't move. The man was huge and she was pretty sure it wouldn't be a good thing to take him on.

"Yeah, Greg. She saved me from that… thing," William groaned, wincing as Patricia applied alcohol on his scrapes.

Greg continued to stare at Delaney closely and as much as she was trying to rein her anger and frustration in, the pissed-off glare the man was giving her wasn't helping. "We don't have time for this, buddy. It's nice to meet you and all. It sucks we have to meet during something like this, but all things considered, this is usually the only time I tend to. I'm sure it'll make a lasting friendship between us."

Greg didn't answer and just before she could begin asking Patricia questions her phone vibrated in her back pocket. She took it out, making a pained face when the movement hurt her arm.

"_Fiona Turner. Died nineteen-sixty-five. Murdered and raped. Slashed across the neck. You were right, this isn't a Banshee._" Bobby muttered.

"Any idea where it's buried?"

"_Cremated. But if you can find a-_"

"Yeah, got it. Thanks."

Delaney turned to Patricia, slipping the phone back into her back pocket. Patricia looked at her, confused. "When you moved into the house, did you find anything that had been left? Anything with some DNA? Like a hairbrush or a glove? Clothes?"

"Uhh… N-No. Nothing."

"Shit!" Delaney ran a hand through her hair. She'd hoped Patricia's crazy uncle had kept something of the girl he'd murdered so this would be easier.

"W-Well… there is this jewelry box I found. It had a… a comb and a necklace."

"Where?"

Before Patricia could answer to Delaney's urgent demand the front door burst open, eliciting a scream from Emily who had been clinging closely to her mother.

Delaney stepped forward already aiming. The telekinetic force the ghost used knocked her backwards, flinging the gun from her hand. She crashed into the shelf beside the chimney, letting out a yelp as something clawed into her back.

She heard the scramble of heavy feet and then a loud thud of something being knocked over. She tried to move but the pain in her lower back was increasing. She rolled over; the things that had fallen off of the shelf fell off of her. She carefully felt along the smooth fabric of her leather jacket until her fingers bumped into a long metal object. She pulled it out easily, hissing as it came out. She brought it to her face and groaned when she saw what it was. A letter opener.

The deep grunts and high pitched screams were still sounding and then she heard two sets of lighter footsteps passing by her and headed to the stairs.

Delaney got to her knees and crawled to the chimney. She looked over to where the struggling was coming from. William was pinned behind the farthest sofa, his arms pushing at it as it dug into his waist.

She looked over by the door to find the ghost named Fiona pressed up against Greg, who was chocking for air against the wall. She had her hands tightly around his neck, the nails digging into his skin.

Delaney had no idea why she wasn't slitting the victim's throats but she wasn't going to say anything about it. She got shakily to her feet and reached for the iron ash picker next to the chimney. She leapt forward, swinging hard with it but making sure it couldn't possibly touch Greg.

The ghost dissipated and Greg gasped for air, grabbing onto his neck, genuinely relieved that nothing was squeezing it.

"Re-salt the doors and windows! Now! I'll go check on the girls! Here," Delaney handed the long iron rod to William. She bent down, quickly picking up her gun and ran up the steps.

She raced down the hall, skidding to a halt in front of Emily's room. "It's me! Open up!"

The door pulled open and Patricia's frightened face appeared, "I need you to tell me where the jewelry box is. Now!"

"U-uh… i-in my the door. I-I think it's on the top shelf in the closet."

Delaney turned, not speaking another word. But before she could get down the hallway she stopped and turned back. Patricia looked at her with horrified eyes.

"Here. These aren't real bullets. They're just cartridges filled with Rock salt. If it shows up, just aim and shoot, okay?"

Patricia took the gun shakily and nodded, lips white. She closed the door, leaving Delaney to burst through the door of the master bedroom.

It was dark but she could distinctly see another door on the opposite side of the bed in front of her and another door to her right. She went for the one on her right, kicking aside the shoes on the floor. She pushed the door open and her hand felt for the light.

A toilet, a shower, a sink.

She didn't bother to turn the light off or close the door. She raced for the other door, stumbling over what felt like a doll.

The closet was small, fabrics hanging off of hangers and as she reached for the shelf above it all, they tickled her face. She reached, standing on her tiptoes. Her fingertips just brushed the edge of the jewelry box.

She grunted, reaching farther. Her left arm wasn't doing much good for her. She fell back onto her feet and took a deep breath. She could feel the heat on her face, making it all so much more uncomfortable.

She reached up with her right arm, whimpering softly when her arm ached. She pressed up against the coats and shirts, her eyes beginning to water from the pain it was causing her.

"Come on! Come on!" She muttered. She gave a little jump and her hand knocked into the box, tipping it forward. She moved aside as it fell.

She opened the box just as she heard a scream from down the hall followed by a loud gunshot. The scream continued, alerting Delaney that Patricia had missed.

She stuck her hand in it quickly, feeling. There was a metal chain and Delaney picked it up, tracing the pendant hanging from it. A Sparrow.

Delaney finally remembered. When she had seen Patricia for the first time, she'd had the necklace around her neck. She stuck her hand in again, the bristles of a comb poking her fingers. She dropped the things back in, and dug deep into her front pockets for her lighter.

She took it out and flipped it open but realized it wasn't going to burn as quick without some sort of flammable. The screams coming from down the hall were making her heart beat uncontrollably fast so before she could drop the lighter in, she reached up at the small bedside table that had been poking into her back. Things clattered to the floor, barely missing her head by inches. Her hand closed around a glass bottle and she pulled it down, immediately opening it.

She brought it up to her nose and nodded when it smelled floral and slightly spicy. Perfume.

She opened the bottle and dunked the liquid into the box, having no time to look for something else just as flammable. She flicked her light on and carefully neared the flame by the brush. A small burst of fire exploded upward and Delaney fell back, landing on her butt.

A guttural pained shriek filled the house, originating from down the hall and made Delaney flinch. She waited quietly, her hard breathing making the only noise in the hall for a while.

Delaney stumbled to her feet, grabbing onto the bed beside her. When she realized it was all over she smiled widely and shouted uncontrollably, "Yeah, bitch! Now you have a damn reason to scream!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well, I'm pretty sure this hasn't been the best chapter and I've had this one in my document manager for so long but since I was advised it wasn't... well, it wasn't our Delaney, the one we know, I was kind of avoiding it.<strong>_

_**As always, and my most used excuse, I've been incredibly busy with school, music, writing (Poetry, not this,) I've had no time to work on my story. And when I've had a free day or two( no more than that *sigh*) I spent the afternoon listening to some Bon Iver or some Fleet foxes, reading a chapter or two. **_

_**I don't deserve any reviews for this chapter so I will not ask for any. It was dreadful and I hope the next one is a buttload more satisfying, to me and to you.:)**_

_**Thank you all,**_

_**Mar98**_


	11. It's Worth it: Everywhere

Chapter Eleven: It's worth it

Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina August 22, 2003

The O'Malley house

Delaney was sitting on the front steps of the O'Malley porch with a large cup of coffee cradled in her hands. Patricia had let her sleep for an hour or two in one of her extra rooms. She'd been too tired after helping clean up to head back to her motel room. She'd wiped the dirt off of her face and arms but the mud on her jeans and jacket had dried as well as the one caking her blouse.

They'd all been extremely quiet after the eye-opening incident that had destroyed Emily's room and the living room. They hadn't seemed to resent Delaney for it, or even the ghost. The shock hadn't worn off by the time they'd made it into bed.

The sun was rising over the horizon, casting orange and yellow light against Delaney's pale face. She squinted at the sun, not bothering to lift an arm.

Her injuries were aching more than ever but she wasn't going to let them ruin the moment. She'd saved them. All of them. Jason had to die, but in the end she'd changed something.

And it felt pretty damn good.

No one had approached her since the night before and Delaney was already too used to it to even sigh, tiredly. It was the way it had to be so whatever.

The creak of the door opening made Delaney turn around. Patricia stepped out in a long pajama robe and fuzzy bunny slippers.

"Like the shoes," Delaney smiled, taking another drink from her coffee.

"Yeah. Emily gave them to me as a birthday present. I could tell she wanted to keep them for herself, though."Patricia returned her smile and walked forward until she was next to Delaney. She quietly sat next to her.

"I don't blame her. How… how is she?"

Patricia turned to her, with such a calculating eye Delaney instinctly flinched slightly. She turned away embarrassed and pulled at her jeans.

"Sorry. I just… She's uh… a little spooked. Like all of us," Patricia chuckled without humor. "I just still can't believe all of that was real! It was a lot to take in over the course of what? Forty, fifty minutes?"

"Yeah," Delaney nodded. "But at least you're all fine."

"Thanks to you. I'm so sorry for not believing you before. It just seemed so…"

"Buckets of shit-load crazy?"

"Yeah. I really am sorry."

"It's okay. You aren't the first to want to beat the hell out of me for coming up with stuff like that. If I didn't know better I'd have slapped me too."

"Yeah, sorry about that too." Patricia laughed and this time it did have humor. "You got me back though."

"That wasn't to get you back, though! That was because you were freaking out." Delaney pointed out, laughing softly.

"I think I had a right to freak out. We all can't be as fearless and awesome as you." Patricia bumped her with her own shoulder and smiled. Delaney held back a whimper and smiled back.

Slowly, as a thought striked Patricia, her smile faded. "How old are you, Delaney? For real."'

Delaney mulled over the consequences of her answering truthfully. None came to mind and she was leaving town in an hour or two. "Twenty-two."

Patricia couldn't hide the surprise from her face. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it slowly, nodding.

"I don't know if I look it but yeah…"

"And uh… how long have you been doing this?"

Delaney didn't want to answer that question. Because every time she did, they always looked at her with this pity in their eyes. She didn't want pity. None of it.

But she didn't want to lie anymore. She did it so much and the ease in which she did it, made her feel dirty. Bad."For a long time."

"And you like doing this? Did you ever think about going to school? College?"

Delaney smiled bitterly, shaking her head. "I can't do that."

"Why not? You could catch up on what you're behind on. They have special classes for people like you. I could recommend a few pe-"

"That's not what I mean," Delaney sighed. She turned to Patricia, a tired look on her face. Patricia was surprised to find such bitter and tired lines over her smooth young face. Like she'd lived a long time. "I accepted a long time ago that I'm not like other people. And that I can't be. Not ever. This is my job and I'm going to do it."

Patricia placed a warm hand in hers. "Is this what you want?"

Delaney hesitated, holding her breath for the right words. What could she say? That she would take any other job over this? That she would give anything in her hands for the life Patricia had? No. That was giving up. That was letting go. "No. It isn't."

"Well, then you have a choice, honey. It's still not too late for you."

"It is, Patricia. I've seen so many things. It's too late for me."

"That's not true. There are people willing to help you. I'm willing to help you. This isn't a path you have to continue on. Not someone as young as you with so many choices and paths. Don't you want a choice?"

"I have a choice. I've always said that no matter what, not matter who, you always have a choice and you do. I can walk away from all this if I want. I know I can. I've seen it done by other people like me. But I won't. There are always two choices. A good and a bad and sometimes it's hard to see which ones the right one. It took me a long time to see that continuing like this is the right one. Maybe not exactly right for my state of mind but it's the right choice because I have a job that needs to be done. I have a job that allows me to save people. And as much as I hate it sometimes I'm not throwing it away."

"You also need to worry about you, Delaney. You can't always take saving people as your job."

"Then who is?"

Patricia stared at Delaney closely, falling silent. Delaney turned away, pulling her hand out of hers. She took another drink of her coffee and stood up. "Thank you. I have to go now. Take care of that pretty little girl you got upstairs."

Delaney handed the coffee cup to Patricia and she took it carefully. Delaney dusted her jeans off and began to walk down the dirt road to her car.

She heard footsteps behind her and a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Thank you for helping us. I can't ever repay you for that but… honey, if you ever need anywhere to stay at, don't be a stranger. I know your travelling must be hard and if you can really care that deeply about keeping me and my family safe, I can at least return the favor."

Delaney didn't answer but nodded numbly. Patricia hesitated before hugging her to her chest. Delaney felt her throat choking. The hug from such a caring maternal woman reminded her deeply of her mother.

"Take care."

Delaney gave her one last shaky smile and walked down the long road. She climbed into the front seat if her car and turned the radio up, so it could drown out the humming of her car.

Her favorite band, The doors was playing and she smiled softly when she recognized the song. The Unknown Soldier.

She appreciated the offer Patricia had made her but she wasn't ever going to see Delaney again.

Delaney would make sure of that.

…

August 24, 2003 In the middle of nowhere in Kansas

Delaney hissed, slapping at the steering wheel until the burning subsided. "Son of a …" She didn't finish the sentence, but let her head rest against the wheel.

She'd pulled over on the road, confident no one was going to bother her. The road wasn't used much and she didn't mind the quiet. She needed to disinfect the wound on her lower back and take care of her arm but she couldn't do much but just dab alcohol on the cut. She definitely couldn't stitch up something on her back.

Delaney reached for the old t-shirt she was using to wipe away the blood and carefully dabbed at her back. She looked at it to find she wasn't bleeding anymore. She had tried to at least place a bandage over it but it kept on falling off or it ended up slanted. She didn't want to wrap a super long bandage around her whole waist. She decided to just place her t-shirt over it and leave it like that. She'd make Bobby stitch it up later.

She took another cotton ball from the compartment and rubbed alcohol on the tree scratches on her arms and face. They didn't burn as much as the bigger cut but they burned enough.

The ringing of her cell phone pierced the silence and Delaney grabbed the phone from her dashboard. She flipped it open and pressed it to her ear. "Yeah?"

"Everything dealt with? No more dead people?'

"Yeah. The ghost is where it was supposed to be all along," Delaney sighed, throwing the used bandages and cotton balls into the open plastic bag resting next to her. She stuck the first-aid kit back into the duffel that was laying at her feet. She brushed her hair back and finally let her back carefully press against the seat. "Hey, Bobby?'

"Yeah?"

"Sorry for being such a pain in the ass and for snapping at you the way I did," She hadn't had enough time to feel bad about it in the line of action but after, it had bothered her. She didn't want to talk that way to Bobby. No matter the circumstance.

"No problem kid. And as for being the pain in my ass, don't worry about it. That's who you are and God knows I don't want you to change,"

Delaney laughed happily, "Yep. Delaney "Pain in the ass" Mannings. Fits like a shoe."

"Yeah well," Bobby sighed over the phone, making the sound crackle. "I researched more on that Fiona chick and now it all makes sense."

"What?'

"Well, I read some old newspaper articles saying she'd bothered the town police a couple of times in her adolescence. She'd claimed there was a Banshee down at the river."

"Oh."

"Yeah. She became pretty obsessed about it before she died. Guess once she was dead she wanted to be something like the thing she loved reading about,"

"She couldn't just be herself. Ghost and their insecurities these days. Oh well. It would've saved us a lot of time if we'd thought about it that way, sooner. But at least the things re-dead."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna hit the hay,"

Delaney looked over at the digital clock that her radio had, "Bobby, it's one in the afternoon."

"I know."

The click of the phone hanging up made her sigh. She dropped her cell phone in the cup holder and turned the engine on.

She wasn't heading for Bobby's yet. She had one person she wanted to check on. Even if it took all day and night getting there.

…

Dean wasn't in Tulsa anymore; she'd assumed he'd had to run. He really didn't take the time to be extra careful so he wouldn't have to leave the town like a roadrunner. But all in all, he'd done okay.

She hadn't wanted to bother Bobby so she'd done researching herself. She'd stopped at a gas station and after refilling the tank and sipping from her Gatorade, she'd pulled out her own computer and researched for the nearest Supernatural occurrence.

Dean wouldn't bypass the closest one because John had drilled into his head that no hunter ever passes up a hunt. So she knew he'd be in New Mexico, dealing with what looked like a ghoul or… a shape shifter.

The thought of a shape shifter instantly made cold shivers run up her spine, no matter the weather. She guessed shape shifters had a thing for southern states.

Delaney couldn't help it. She still dreamed of the time she'd spent in that shape-shifters grasp. She remembered all of it. Every pick of its knife. Every word it whispered with its raspy breath. The look of unsatisfied sadistic intentions in her own face. The monstrosity she'd seen in her own eyes had left her with a sense of disgust towards herself. She knew it was unreasonable and she could never, ever see herself doing something like what had been done to her. But, the incident had left her with this thought at the back of her head that rubbed up against her brain, rubbing her thoughts raw until she couldn't help but get back to that one hungry doubt.

Was she able to do that to someone? To something? Hadn't she been doing it to monsters all her life? Wasn't she a monster in her own sense?

Delaney felt indescribably weak compared to Bobby and John and even Sam and Dean. They hadn't ever whined to her about the things they'd seen. She knew they were all messed-up. She'd been born to do this. Kill things that hurt people. But know she had the unrelenting feeling that she wasn't even good at what she was born to do. And it made her feel like a piece of crap.

Bobby had tried to tell her that it was okay to feel bad, to have nightmares and cry out in your sleep. She'd never heard Bobby do it. Or John. In the end, she guessed she wasn't made of the same tough stuff.

Although, she'd grown harder over the years. Harder, so that her lack of emotions at time made her worry.

Delaney turned the car engine off, and forced herself to get out of the car. She didn't care if she'd locked it or not and as she walked, she had no idea if she had.

Her movements were sluggish, due to the fact that she'd only slept two hours the night before and it had been midnight one or two hours ago. She was beat.

She didn't bother to ask for Dean. She just traversed the parking lot, looking for the dark as night Chevy Impala.

…

August 25, 2003 two in the morning

"Hey."

The scars on her face and arms were healing, scabs already visible. Her full pink lips were dry and the upper one had the red/brown scar of a busted lip. Her dark eyes were red and drooping, the eyelashes long and naturally curled.

The dark skinny jeans she was wearing looked already worn and her light brown heel-less boots were caked with mud and dry grasses. Her t-shirt at least looked clean, the name of her favorite band plastered at the front.

"Hey," Dean wasn't sure what to say about the state she was in but he knew it was best to keep his mouth shut. Delaney didn't appreciate when you told her she looked bad. He'd learned the long tedious way. So, he settled for a somewhat neutral approach. "You look tired."

Delaney picked her head up a little from the downward position her neck had put it at. She searched his face for any type of insult and when she didn't find it she said,"Yeah, well. I am. Very."

"You cheap player. Instead of renting a room you came for me. It's nice to know we're on that type of basis."

"You only have "Free stay at my motel room for some dirty favors" plastered on your forehead."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "Dirty favors?"

"Oh, I'm so regretting saying that."

Dean chuckled then sighed, "What are you waiting for? But I better get some pie for this."

"It's so easy to get something from you. Such a push-over." Delaney slipped past him and immediately began to take off her jacket. "What are you still doing up?"

"Researching," The tone in which Dean said it resembled the tone with which he used when speaking about witches. A tone of complete total distaste.

"Ooo, you know, hot girls go for geeks all the time. I guess it's just something about the over-alls." Delaney dropped her jacket over the back of the sofa and gave him an unusually bright smile for the tired state she was in.

"I don't have trouble keeping my pants on."

Delaney looked up from taking off her boots, "Yeah, actually, you do."

Dean, catching what she meant, just shrugged.

"Ugh, I'm beat." Delaney groaned and dropped on the sofa. She adjusted the pillow under her head and closed her eyes.

"Delaney."

"Huh?" She mumbled softly, without opening her eyes.

"Come on. You can take the other half of the bed."

Delaney opened her eyes, thinking over what she'd just heard. "What?"

"That sofa has some pretty disgusting fleas. Size of my thumb."

Delaney sat up, a confused expression on her face. She turned to Dean, her eyes squinted, and one side of her hair, messed up. "Are you telling me to share a bed? With you?"

"Hey, it's not like it hasn't been done before. We'd always have to bunk beds."

"Yeah, but we were kids and that was before you got your hormones in a bunch."

"I can control myself fine." Dean smirked, leaning against the table by his bed.

"Ha! You hit on everything that has boobs." Delaney rolled her eyes and lay back down. She closed her eyes again and found a comfortable position.

"Hey, we're both adults and I can control myself."

"_Can_ you?"

"Can _you_?"

"Go to sleep, Dean. I can handle some damn fleas."

"Well, don't come crying to me when they bite your skinny ass."

"Hey. You leave my ass alone."

The tone in which she said it, a playful growl made Dean laugh. He climbed into bed, removing as much as his clothes as he could without it being too uncomfortable with another person in the room.

Delaney slowly opened her eyes, listening to the sounds of him getting into bed. He'd never asked her something like that, and it made her feel a little bad that the only reason he was doing it now, was because he felt alone.

She felt so ridiculous that it'd hurt her. Something so small. But no, it wasn't small. It was way bigger than what Dean was letting on.

But what worried her the most, was that while she had been gone, Dean had perfected his closed-off "okay" face. She'd seen no sign of Sam's departure in his face.

But she knew it was there.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Another chapter, my friends! Short and un-beta'd but at least a little bit more... non-problematic. Still very unsatisfied but since I haven't written for this story in a while, I've kinda lost my umm... flo?<strong>_

_**Working on getting it back, though. You bet!**_

_**Oh! My rhythm. That sounds so much better. :)**_

_**Thank you all,**_

_**Mar98**_


	12. Hit Harder: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Chapter Twelve: Hit harder

Albuquerque, New Mexico Dean's motel room

August 25, 2003 Around 11:30 AM

Dean woke up before Delaney did. He climbed out of bed, not having to pull his jeans on since he'd decided to leave them on the night before. He'd had enough of Delaney seeing him half-naked.

He put on his boots, looking over at the sofa. He could only see the bottom of her bare feet over the arm rest of the sofa, and they were at an angle so they were pointing to the right, inwards at the sofa back.

Dean stood up, putting his button down over his normal brown t-shirt, but leaving it open in his usual manner. He adjusted the collar, keeping his eyes on the bare feet. Delaney usually wasn't a deep sleeper at around that time. She could usually sense someone moving if it was early enough to be awake. He guessed she really hadn't slept in a while. It wasn't unusual.

He was going to wake her up anyway, to annoy her because some things just never changed but he wasn't so sure it was going to go good for him. To him, it looked like she was more okay with the prospect of punching him.

But as he saw her there, her legs folded back at the knee making a v-shape, on her side facing the back of the sofa, he couldn't do it. Sometime in the night she'd stripped to her white tank top that she used for an undershirt and her striped boxer-short underwear. She had used her left arm as a pillow, her elbow right below her chin. Her shirt had ridden up, exposing the smooth skin of her lower back. There was a vertical cut, short in length and not that wide, right above the hem of her lady shorts. It wasn't bleeding but the wound was still open and the skin around it was purple and it looked like it would need a couple of stitches.

Delaney moaned softly, readjusting her head on her arm. Sweat was coating her neck and forehead, and the area of back he could see. Delaney had always been a good girl, never showing more skin than she had to. He knew she'd only removed her clothes at night because it was so damn hot in the crappy motel room. The air conditioning in the room hadn't been working and he knew Delaney wasn't used to the heat.

Dean was only a guy so he couldn't help but notice the smooth skin of her thin athletic legs and the flat toned area of her stomach.

Dean abruptly turned away, shaking his head and walked off into the kitchenette.

He looked through the fridge, sighing when there wasn't anything in it.

He'd always known Delaney was good-looking. It was no big deal. And he was a guy, so whatever.

The sound of the couch springs jolting making a squeaky sound and the clatter of something crashing to the floor made Dean look up.

Delaney had sat up abruptly, startling awake from what could only be a nightmare. Her eyes searched the bed in front of her, over the arm rest of the sofa. She turned her head to look at the rest of the room and when she saw Dean staring at her curiously she caught herself before she sighed. She looked at the coffee table beside her and cleared her throat when she noticed she'd knocked down a bottle of alcohol.

"I knew you didn't like to drink but you don't have to take it out on my booze."

Delaney ran a shaking hand through her hair and muttered, "Sorry."

"Yeah well, you owe me one. I'm goin out for some breakfast. Want anything?"

"No."

"Oh yeah and…" Dean trailed off, walking back to his bed and pulling out something that had been placed under it.

Delaney sat up straighter and looked over to see what Dean was doing. He was digging through his duffel and he came up with a white first-aid kit. He tossed it at her and before she could remember her right arm was still aching, she brought it up and caught it. She hissed, slowly bringing her arm down.

"Just aching or dislocated?" Dean fixed the clothes tumbling out of the duffel and kicked it under the bed, not looking up.

Delaney sent a wary look in his direction and rubbed at her right arm with her left, "I don't know. All I know is it hurts. But I think my shoulder's the whole problem."

Dean nodded then came to stand next to her, "That slash you have on your back is pretty nasty too."

Delaney didn't answer, only rubbing at her eyes with her healthy arm.

"Why didn't you get it taken care of?"

"I was trying to get here. I don't really like hospitals all that much, anyway. They ask so many questions and it's so squeaky clean everywhere considering all the blood they spill in that place. Every time I see a doctor, all I can think of is…" Delaney caught herself. She didn't want to think about that now, much less talk about it.

Dean noticed she was trying to withhold something but he didn't poke at it, he had a feeling it was personal. "Yeah. I hate those places too."

"And anyway, I would've sewed it up myself if I could reach. I disinfected it before I got here."

"I thought you didn't like playing doctor on anyone. I remember you'd practically barf anytime dad made you carve a bullet out of him."

"Well, after the first twenty times your stomach gets strong enough." Delaney sighed, opening the first-aid kit and handing Dean the necessary material to sew her back up. "Do you…."

Dean took the needle, stopping only to disinfect his hands with the small bottle of disinfectant in the kit. Delaney lay down on her stomach, after slipping her jeans on.

He smacked her legs so she could squeeze closer to the sofa and sat down next to her. "What got you so low in the back?"

Delaney groaned when the needle begin to dig in, "A ghost."

"A ghost shanked you in the back?"

"I love how delicately you say that, "She muttered sarcastically. Her tone slipped back to normal when she spoke, "Not up front but I still blame the whore. Ouch! What in the hell?"

Dean had pinched the skin around the wound. He didn't answer what it had been for but just smirked, "That's why your arm's crippled?"

Delaney didn't answer at first, thinking over her words over carefully. She so didn't want Dean knowing she'd tripped. "Yeah. We could go with that."

"Done. Let me see your arm."

Delaney turned over onto her back and sat up. The stitches pulled at her skin but she didn't complain. Delaney and stitches had become close friends over the years.

She scooted down the sofa so Dean could sit better. "It's my right arm."

He stood up and sat on her other side. He grabbed her arm in his hands and gently began to press into it. "Where does it hurt?"

"It's more around my shoulder area." She mumbled in a pained voice. She suddenly smiled and added, "Doctor."

Dean ignored her and pressed into her shoulder.

Delaney groaned, biting down on her lip. Dean looked up at her and began to knead into the tense muscle.

"Feels like I'll have to pop the sucker back in."

"Great. Right whe-"

The loud pop and the quick heavy pain made her gasp then give a restrained growl of pain. She looked up at him, her eyes flaming, "You didn't warn me, you bastard!"

"Oh, grow a pair." Dean stood up and washed his hands in the sink.

She glared at his back and breathed in deeply. She was kind of surprised to realize she felt a lot better. "Thanks."

Delaney stood up, still expecting her shoulder to ache since she'd had to deal with it for more than twenty-four hours. When it only felt a little bit sore, she reached over the sofa, to the small eating table pressed firmly behind it. She put on the t-shirt from the day before.

"You talked to Bobby?"

Delaney turned to him, slightly surprised he'd asked about him. She reached for her boots and shook her head. "Not for a couple of days. Not since I left North Carolina."

"North Carolina?"

"Very swampy. I got mosquito bites in places where I shouldn't."

Dean nodded, not asking anything else on the topic.

Delaney grabbed her light brown jacket and put it on, placing a barefoot on the sofa cushion. She'd stuffed her socks in the boots. She put them on then slipped her boots on, over her jeans. She stuffed her knife in the left boot and her lock pick in the other. She was content with keeping her gun at the back of her jeans.

She looked up to see Dean watching her but besides meeting his gaze she didn't say anything.

"I'm starving. Come on."

…

"This is your car?" Dean ran a caressing hand over the gleaming hood of the car. Delaney stood by the motel door, her arms crossed and her eyes staring at him boringly.

"Yes. Bobby gave it to me." Delaney ran a thin hand through her hair and looked across the motel parking lot to a young couple. They barely looked old enough to drive yet. "Impatient bastards," she muttered.

"What year?" Dean looked up at her, his eyes so full of little kid joy. Delaney looked up impatiently, already starting to bark at him that she needed breakfast. When she caught the look in his eyes, she sighed slowly.

"I don't remember. I'm not…" She hesitated, pushing off of the door. "I'm not as good with all this car stuff. And shouldn't it say… somewhere?"

"Yeah, just testing you." Dean watched her intently as she strode over to the car. She placed a hand on her closed eyes and the other on the hood of the car.

"I've never been good at tests." Delaney gave him a weak smile.

She was tired. In a sense she couldn't explain. It was the most inopportune moment to feel that way but it was coming to her in pulses. Dean and Sam were being the death of her. She'd been holding it down before but every time she saw Dean, Sam's face would flash in her mind and the pain of him being willing to leave Dean and John just like that, dug a hole deep into her chest.

She hadn't had time to think of what effect Sam's departure had caused on her because she'd been so busy trying to fix the effects it had on Dean. But it hurt. A lot.

"You sure this is your car?"

"It's my car, okay?" She snapped, dropping the hand over her eyes onto the hot metal of the hood. It burned so she uncomfortably let it rest on her side. That was when she realized the hot metal had been burning her other hand as well. She pulled that one away too.

Dean looked up at her from his eyelashes and Delaney jerkily turned away. She covered her quivering mouth with a shaky hand.

God, Delaney! Get it together!

She couldn't understand why it was hitting her so hard now. Maybe because she had more time to think about it now? During the hunt, she'd been busy worrying about the family and extracting information and when she had been alone and not busy, she'd fallen asleep from exhaustion. And after the hunt, she'd been hurt and the pain had erased everything else from her mind. The night before she'd driven like a maniac to get to Dean and she'd been too tired to let the emotions get to her. Emotions she hadn't even known were there.

She felt like such a hypocrite after everything she had told Bobby. She had believed she was okay with Sam leaving, or as okay as she thought she could get, and she'd actually meant it. Now, she realized, it had just taken a while for the reality of it all to kick in.

Sam hadn't left for any other reason than that he'd wanted to get away. Away from John, Dean, and her. She'd been lying to herself. There had been no other reason for Sam leaving. He had just wanted out.

Why did he get out? Why could _he_ just turn his back, his conscious as clean as it'd ever been? How could he leave Dean? How could he leave John?

How could he leave her?

The times when they'd shared their thoughts and their feelings flashed in her mind, like the moment before her mother had taken her from them. The feel of his shoulder against hers, on the dark Impala in the cold of the bright stars above their sounds of Sam's young voice counting out as many as he could, mostly the brighter ones.

He'd left her. He'd left Dean.

Tears filled her eyes and she clamped her mouth down angrily. Her upper teeth pressed against her lower. She felt like such a damn sissy.

She couldn't let Sam's choice get to her now. Not when Dean needed her more.

She released a soft breath and felt herself crumbling. She couldn't be mad at Sam. Not Sam.

Her feelings were so jumbled up she had no idea anymore what she could possibly be feeling. Spasms of anger and resentment filled her chest. And soon after, pride and stubbornness drowned them out. And then the pain hit her so hard.

What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to feel? Whose side was she supposed to be on?

Was she supposed to be glad Sam was out of it for good? Jealous he'd made it out and she never would? Angry that it'd been so easy for him to leave them? Hurt that he hadn't even bothered to say goodbye?

"Hey, Delaney?" Dean placed an arm on her shoulder. The smell of him filled her nostrils.

Delaney smoothly slipped from under his hand and brought her hand up to her eyes. She swiped the tears away in one quick motion.

Dean watched her form, not aware of the tears that had been filling her eyes. When she turned, her eyes still looked red but no excess water was in sight.

"You uh… Y-"

"I'm hungry," She muttered simply and strode off to where Dean's car was. She pulled open the passenger side door and slid in.

Dean watched her buckle the seat belt and slowly, made his way to the car as well.

...

They got a booth by the window, a window where Dean could see his car from. The diner was small compared to the ones Delaney had been in before.

The booths were a dark red color that matched the juke-box in the corner of the place.

Delaney sat across from Dean without a word but her face looked fairly relaxed and pleasant. Dean had been watching her warily the whole drive there. It hadn't been very long but it had seemed so from the silence that had constipated the air in between them

Dean had wanted to take Delaney's car out for a drive but he had thought she'd have refused immediately, using the fact that he'd only let her drive his car once. And anyway, his baby was better than Delaney's. No competition.

The sound of the small grains of salt crashing against the inside of the salt-shaker Delaney was shaking for no apparent reason was starting to annoy him gradually. The smell of food wafted from the back region of the diner every time any waitress slipped past the swinging door.

As Dean reached for his menu he couldn't help but worry at the sight of Delaney's far-off look. He opened the menu on the table and looked at it, boringly. You could only be so surprised with diners after a whole life-time of dining at them.

"Are you okay? Or... you know, is it just that time of month?"

Dean's voice pierced her thoughts and she looked up, her face screwed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Dean observed her reaction, unmoved. "You practically jumped out of your skin when I touched your shoulder a little while ago and you have mood swings goin' on like I don't…" He trailed off, flipping the page of his menu.

Delaney relaxed her body position and leaned back against the seat. She placed the salt shaker down and gave Dean an exaggerated annoyed smile, "I'm fine. Are you?"

Dean's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion at that point but when he read the tone in her voice his face hardened. He knew where this was heading next and he should've known she would find a way to turn it around if he asked about her. "Peachy," He muttered.

Delaney shook her head slightly, biting her lower lip in an attempt to restrain her reproaching smile. She grabbed her own menu and opened it.

A flare of anger sparked in Dean's chest and he placed his menu aside, "If you have something to say, spit it out. God knows I only live for what you say."

"No, I'm fine. Nothing to say." Her tone was a fake neutral, the shrug of her shoulders small.

"Delaney, spit it out."

The waitress took that time to approach the table.

"Hello, my name is Denise and I'll be your waitress today. I hope you've had a great morning so far."

"Oh, amazing actually." Delaney gave the waitress a wide smile.

Denise looked at her warily, he brown eyes trying to make out if Delaney was being rude. When she couldn't find any open hostility she turned to Dean. "What would you like, sir? Our breakfast special today is chocolate chip pancakes with a side of two sausages and scrambled eggs. You can switch either side dish for a fruit salad."

"We'll have two of those. Original side dishes. Thanks."

The waitress nodded and took the menus. When she was out of earshot, Delaney muttered coldly, "I didn't want that."

"What are you, five?'

"Are you?"

"Okay, you're pissed." Dean pushed away the napkin holder to make enough space to place his folded arms on the table. He gave Delaney a deadly serious expression. "I really don't know what I do to you anymore. I didn't even intend to get you off this time."

"It's what you don't say, Dean."

"Oh! Not that again." Dean turned away and pushed off of the table, so he could lean against the booth.

"See? Forget it."

Dean watched as she looked away stubbornly and slowly leaned forward once again. He made sure his voice was just a whisper, "I'm fine, Delaney. I am. There's nothing else to it."

"Really? Then why don't you at least talk about it? Because if you were as okay with this as you say you are, you wouldn't avoid talking about it like if it were some disgusting annoying disease."

Dean sighed, falling back into the seat for the second time. He let his head rest against the smooth cool leather. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Okay, then. There's nothing I have to talk about either."

"Is this some crappy version of dishing out what you get served?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Delaney answered, reaching for a napkin from the napkin dispenser.

Dean scoffed with disbelieving annoyance plastered on his face. He watched Delaney tear at the napkin silently. "Fine."

"Fine," Delaney almost instantly retorted, looking up at him. They stared at each other angrily, for a moment, until the waitress brought their food.

They ate silently, the anger in between them, thick.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Another chapter fellow Americans! And Canadians! And everyone else...<em>**

**_Let me know if you're liking all of this. Stayed home today due to the fact that I was feeling like shit yesterday. Didn't want it all to come back today, did I?_**

**_Dean and Delaney argue a lot. Obviously. It's just the way they communicate. :)_**

**_Thank you all,_**

**_Mar98_**


	13. Casyn: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Chapter Thirteen:Casyn

Albuquerque, New Mexico Dean's Motel room

August 25, 2003

Delaney was taking a shower, the heat of the water sending pleasurable sensations through her body. Dean and her hadn't spoken a word to each other since they'd gotten back from the diner. She was okay with that. Any minute she continued seeing his face just served to make her feel worse.

She felt guilty for being such a bitch earlier. She still felt pissed at him for trying to act all cool with any of what was going on. She understood he wanted to move on from the ugly situation they were in but the way he was doing it, was just going to backfire on him.

She could hear Dean messing around with the dishes in the sink and then silence. She expected he was getting down to researching.

She wasn't pissed at Dean. At least not fully. She had just given up on making him talk the old way. The new process she was using made her feel like a jerk but she would take any guilt if it made Dean better. If it made both of them better.

Delaney wasn't pissed all that much at Sam either. She was more hurt than anything. Disappointed he could just turn away like that.

Sam only had memories of hunting, on growing up like that. Dean had, at least, some very faint memories of being a normal toddler. She had memories of living in her fairy tale life cottage.

Sam had felt overwhelmed. Tied in, slowly suffocating by the onslaught of any person's nightmares. And then some.

Delaney wanted Sam to know the consequences of his choice. And it wasn't about him going to college, about him wanting to be something else, do something else. She was sure Dean felt that as well. It was about Sam willing to hurt everyone else for what he wanted, even after everyone had sacrificed a lot for him. And in Dean's case, everything for him.

She was torn. Confused. And the only thing she could do was hold together and get the boys back together. Or at least be willing to talk.

But deep inside, she already knew it was a lost cause. She knew that they were going to be separated for good now. And she hated it.

Delaney had never been one to give up and she wasn't going to do it now. She would do the part she felt she had to do and if the boys decided to keep their damn pride intact, she'd at least know she'd done what she could.

That brought another thought to her head. Delaney didn't exactly know how she'd gotten caught up right smack in the middle of it all. Of course, she could leave when she wanted, leave the struggle and resentment behind but they were her family. She couldn't.

Delaney had also been careful not to express her views on Sam's departure. To Dean at least. He wasn't one to quietly listen to what he didn't want to hear.

Above all else, Dean was loyal. Sometimes to the point that it scared her. If she showed one shred of doubt on Sam's high-tail out of Hunting land, he'd completely shut her out. And this time for good. He was loyal so he expected the people he was loyal to, to return the favor.

Delaney stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her, and tied it under her left arm so it wouldn't slip off. She took out her brush from her duffel and combed through her hair until the tangles were off.

She rubbed lotion over her body and carefully applied deodorant. She slipped on her clothes when she was done and put her boots over her skinny jeans. She stuck her knife in her left boot and her gun in her right.

She parted her hair sideways, letting it rest against her gray fabric over her shoulders, of her blouse.

She was barely going to brush her teeth when she heard a loud crash and the thump of a heavy something falling to the floor.

Delaney listened intently, trying to make sure Dean just hadn't knocked something over. She was holding her toothbrush tight in her right hand when a high-pitched scream sounded.

She heard the sounds of struggling and Dean's loud pained grunts. The thumping of limbs, it sounded like, increased and she spurred into action.

Delaney threw her toothbrush into the sink and removed her knife from her left boot. She unlocked the door, not pausing to make sure it had been done right. And even if it hadn't, the forced with which she shoved it open, could have snapped the lock right off.

Dean was on the floor, the shards of a broken lamp were scattered around him and the motel door was left ajar. The table that had held the large lamp had also been turned over, away from the original place it had been, beside the door.

What surprised her wasn't the messy state the room was in. A girl, around nineteen or eighteen was on top of him, punching the living daylights out of him.

Delaney would've laughed if it hadn't looked like she was actually hurting him. She was smaller than him that was for sure. She looked around Delaney's size and she thought she could take her on fairly if she had no weapon.

Her hair was past her shoulders, reaching well into her back and blonde highlights were spread out between the dark tresses, like stripes of gold. She was wearing what looked like dark blue jeans and what looked like a white tank top. Her arms were thin and a light tan color, not dark enough to be actually called tan but a light honey color. Her hair was straight and down and was whipping back and forth as she struggled to keep Dean down.

She could see the dark color prints of various tattoos on the insides of her arms and one larger one peeking over the back of her tank top.

Delaney was frozen for a second, unsure of what to do. The slam of the door hitting against the wall behind it made the girl look up and raise a gun towards her. It only took Delaney a moment to observe that her eyes weren't black or red and the way in which she held a gun. She didn't look all too familiar with how to hold it and it was Dean's favorite gun.

The girl looked at Delaney with a mixture of surprise then hostility. Delaney didn't take enough time to realize her face had transformed yet again, but this time to realization.

Delaney flung her knife, knowing it would hit squarely at the gun in the girl's hand. She yelped, the fear in her voice making Delaney doubt her reaction to the situation for a moment.

The gun fell to a clank and Dean grabbed the girl and pulled her down to the side. He pinned her down and that was when Delaney saw the blood coating Dean's shirt.

Her breath caught in fear but she tried not to let it get to her. She was about to drag the girl up herself and keep a firm grip on her because Dean was struggling after the pain she'd already caused him, but she saw the door was open and locked it quickly, taking a quick peek to see if anyone was heading towards their room.

Delaney turned to the girl, a look of open dislike and suspicion across her features. The girl stopped struggling and stared her straight in the eye, face hard.

Dean, not realizing he was making a big mistake, looked up at Delaney, wondering why the girl had stopped struggling. Delaney caught Dean's eyes long enough to give him an urgent stare but it was too late.

A loud cracking sound was made when the girl's knees came up against Dean's ribs. Dean fell back, his hand flying to his rib cage.

The girl kicked his legs away and scrambled to her feet, already running towards the door. Delaney lunged forward just as the girl reached the door and knocked into her, squishing her against the door. Delaney pressed her firmly against it, avoided the girl's flailing arms and legs.

"Please! Help!"

Delaney was instantly caught by surprise. Why was she calling for help? Monsters didn't call for help. Demons didn't call for help.

Delaney's grip on the girl's arms loosened enough so the girl felt it and she abruptly went silent, elbowing Delaney in the face.

Delaney stumbled back, pain blurring her eyesight. She could hear the girl struggling to get the door open and Delaney tried to reach out, grab onto her so she wouldn't run away before she could ask her what she was doing there.

"You little-"

The click of a gun made both of them go quiet. Delaney blinked her eyes furiously and spun around to find Dean aiming his gun. His other hand was against his ribs, and blood was oozing from his lower lip. "Turn around, sweetheart or I'll shoot."

Delaney placed a hand on her throbbing jaw and watched as the girl slowly turned around. Her eyes were wide and a strand of hair was poking into her mouth, from all the moving around and struggling.

"You okay?" Dean asked, his voice breaking a little as the pain registered on his face. His eyes were firmly on the girl. Delaney knew he was asking her but she was too busy trying to figure out what type of thing the chick was.

Delaney hadn't taken her eyes off of her either but she was less worried about whether she was going to move. Something seemed off about this girl, besides the fact that she'd busted into their room and had proceeded to kick both of their asses.

Then it came to Delaney, she looked like she was just a girl. Her blue-gray eyes didn't hold the self-assurance a demon's did or the animalistic sadistic nature any other monster did. The girl was just scared.

"Wait." Delaney muttered, putting a hand up towards Dean.

Dean had been glaring furiously at the girl but when he heard Delaney his eyes flicked towards her. The way she was staring at the girl, with such intense concentration was confusing Dean. "What?"

"She isn't a demon."

"How could you possibly now that?"

"She's scared, you idiot. She's practically trembling."

The girl's eyes widened even more at the word "demon." She turned from one to the other; unsure of what she had heard. It couldn't be. The blonde guy and the dark-haired girl knew about demons too?

"It could be an act and I would say we're worthy of being feared by demons."

Delaney ignored Dean but took a step towards the girl. Her back was pressed against the door, her arms tightly pressed to her sides. She didn't cower as Delaney neared her.

Delaney's face was hard and expressionless, "What's your name? Are you running from something?"

The girl was too scared to answer. Her brain gears were turning, her mind searching for ways to get out of there. Delaney noticed this and spoke, "You're not going anywhere, honey, not until you explain all of this."

"Why should I tell you? Or him?"

It was the first time she'd talked and Delaney was surprised her voice was steady and not as scared sounding as her face looked.

The anger that flashed across Delaney's face was quick and she hid it before the girl even got enough time to see it. She approached the girl slowly and stopped when she was right in front of her. "You see the blood at the front of his shirt?"

Delaney's voice was incredibly calm for how angry she was feeling. The girl was a girl, she was positive. She was starting to think the chick had just broken in for something to steal but seeing the blood she'd extracted from Dean had her more pissed than she'd been in a long time.

And the poor thief had gotten her right when she wasn't in the happiest times. So it served to say, she wasn't in the best mood to be delicate and understanding.

The girl looked over Delaney's shoulder at Dean. Her eyes froze on the blood at the front of his shirt for a moment before she turned to Delaney.

"You're gonna tell me what you're doing here before I really let it get to me that you made Dean bleed and that you elbowed me in the face. I get it, you're scared but we won't hurt you unless you make us."

The girl hesitated, searching Delaney's eyes for something Delaney didn't have the least idea about. Delaney waited quietly for the girl to make up her mind.

Dean muttered something darkly under his breath and Delaney's first instinct was to elbow him in the ribs but when he flinched she didn't let her elbow contact with his broken rib.

It looked like the girl took a deep breath, to speak was what it looked like, but instead she straightened up and hardened her face. "No."

Delaney didn't let the girl see her surprise.

"Shoot me do whatever but I'm not apologizing for making the dick bleed. All I did was walk in and he friggin' tackled me." The girl jutted her chin out in Dean's direction.

It was the first time Dean had really seen her face and his eyes widened as he recognized the shape of her features.

He'd seen the girl before. He just couldn't remember where.

Delaney hadn't been expecting for the girl to get brave so soon. She tried to not let it confuse her further. She softened her voice, trying to restrain the need she was feeling to punch the chick. She wasn't usually so violently impulsive.

"We're not making you apologize for anything. At least not yet. But you hurt me and my friend. That's not something we're gonna let off the hook so easily. If you hadn't noticed it gives us a pretty bad vibe about you and we're the ones that have the guns."

"Oh, I didn't come in here to hurt either of you!" The girl retorted angrily. "Your little boyfriend just freakin' came at me. What was I supposed to do?"

"Really?" Delaney put a hand on the girls arm and reached forward with her other one.

"Hey! Get off me!" The girl struggled as Delaney pushed her back against the door and reached towards the front of her jeans, where her belt was. She pulled out a long knife from the front of her waistband.

The girl watched Delaney take it and hold it out in front of her. She watched her carefully but Delaney turned it down and stepped back. "Enough, okay? We know you're just as confused as we are."

"Give me my knife back," the girl hissed her body posture tensing.

"No." Delaney answered simply, sticking it in the front of her waistband like the girl. She crossed her arms and watched the girl steam in front of her.

Delaney had no idea what the hell had happened while she had been taking a shower. She had no idea what a twenty year-old girl was doing in her motel room, with a knife.

"Why do you carry yours?"

Delaney shrugged, "Want me to show you?"

"Hey, hey. Just sit her down, tigress. Before she tries to bolt for it again," Dean stepped forward. He pulled the nearest chair in front of the girl and flicked at it with his gun. He was still trying to remember where he'd seen her.

"I don't think the gun is necessary," Delaney muttered under her breath. Dean turned to her, his eyes asking the question his mouth didn't have to. "I'm serious, Dean. She's human. I'll even get some holy water, make her cut herself but that would just serve to freak her out more. And anyway, we really don't need a gun to hurt her."

"Did you forget she friggin broke my rib?" Dean hissed, quietly. Delaney caught the girl staring at them curiously so she grabbed Dean by the shoulder and turned him around.

She had to tiptoe a little to reach his ear, "I'll patch it up later, Dean. How did she even get in here anyway?"

"She was picking the damn lock. It was so quiet and the jiggling and cursing freaked me out. I cut my damn thumb. And then, just as I was gonna reach for my gun, she just stepped in and my first instinct was to tackle her."

"Tackle her?" Delaney asked, eyes wide. "Dean, she's a girl! And she's way smaller than you! You could've hurt her!"

"Well, I was the one that got hurt!" Dean snapped, gesturing at his rib. He hissed in pain when the movement hurt. "I thought she was something after us, anyway! What was I supposed to do?"

Delaney watched him and couldn't help it as a small smirk plastered her face. "That's kind of funny. A midget brought you down. How the hell did she do that?"

"Ha, funny." Dean rolled his eyes angrily and turned back to the girl. "You ready to explain who you are?"

"Not to you," she piped, looking around the room boringly.

Dean's face flushed red angrily and before he could go off, Delaney stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his chest, "Sorry. He has anger issues. You need help with that?"

The girl looked down at the cut on her palm and Delaney saw her slightly pale at the blood dripping from it. But she looked up at Delaney and answered quietly, "No. I'm fine."

"Here." Delaney reached for one of the rags Dean had been about to use for his guns, checked to see if it was unused and tossed it at the girl.

She caught it with her other hand and wrapped the cut up. Delaney noticed the expert way she did it, tying it tightly and keeping her other hand on it for pressure.

"Looks like you know how to handle a wound." Delaney observed, stopping to lean against the back of the couch, her arms crossed. She looked over at Dean and stifled a smile when his pose was still stiff and tense.

"Well, I've gotten cut before. Usually not by someone who can throw a knife like that but, yeah. You're a hunter?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Nope. But I know Bobby Singer. I heard he has a name around the business and I've been looking for someone. I guess he's not as good as they say because he sent me to the wrong room."

"Who are you looking for?"

"A hunter. Like you guys. I've been looking for her for a while but I can't seem to find her. She moves around like a serious paranoid chick. Her name's Delaney Mannings. I was told she works alone."

"Well, you found her. And I do usually work a lone but I decided to find a motel room that I didn't have to pay for. Why are you looking for me?"

The girl seemed genuinely surprised she'd found Delaney. She stared at her with wide eyes for a moment then shook her head, as if to clear her mind to speak. She hesitated, "You're Delaney?"

"In the flesh." Delaney backed up into the sofa and raised herself to sit on the back of the seat. She placed her feet on the chair sticking out from under the table next to her and softly rubbed at her jaw. It was still slightly aching but she was glad she hadn't gotten as hurt as Dean.

Delaney didn't necessarily trust the girl. Far from it but she knew that the girl knew she was in a position where she couldn't lie or, at least, get away with it. And even if she did try something, Dean and Delaney could bring her down fast. She'd made them struggle, she'd give her that, but now that they knew what they were dealing with, it wouldn't be as hard as it had been the first time.

"Oh… uh…" The girl trailed off and it looked like she was trying to get a grip on whatever she was feeling or thinking.

Delaney and Dean exchanged a look where Delaney just gave a small shrug.

Dean was still having a hard time remembering where he'd seen the girl and it wasn't going very good. He'd met more people in a few months than any normal person could meet in a year and that wasn't helping at all. Usually he didn't worry about it if he recognized someone but the girl he knew wasn't just like everyone else. She had managed to kick his ass and was now saying she had been looking for Delaney all along. He wasn't sure about the girl and he could tell Delaney wasn't either.

It kind of brought him to his senses when Delaney wasn't freaking out and wasn't as pissed as he was, but she wasn't the one that had gotten his butt kicked by a midget. Well, in some sense she had but she was a girl so it was less of a big deal. He wasn't happy to say and he would never have admitted it fully, but his ego had been put down a little.

Delaney turned to Dean for a moment, and smirked slightly when she saw the intense look on his face. She trailed her eyes over his form and when she caught him squeezing his left thumb in his right hand, it faded. The blood at the front of his shirt had been from the nick he'd given himself and, she guessed, from when she had cut the girl with the knife she'd thrown.

It was a lot of blood so it seemed like it hadn't only been a little nick. She really was going to fix that later. Her injuries had felt better after Dean's doctoring.

"My name's Casyn. I… well, I really am sorry for, you know..." The girl looked down and Delaney kind of relaxed when she realized she was shy. She wouldn't have to deal with any more talking back.

"It's fine. We get hurt all the time. Right, Dean?" Delaney smiled at Casyn and sent an expecting look at Dean.

He glared at her almost indistinctly but he sighed turning to the girl. He gave the best smile he could and nodded.

"It was all a big jumble of first instincts and shock and violence anyway," Delaney hopped off of the sofa and went to the sink. She opened the shelves above it and when she saw they were empty she grabbed a Styrofoam cup next to the sink and smelled it. She shrugged and rinsed it. She filled it up with water and handed it to Casyn.

She took it gingerly and carefully sipped from it. Delaney had become pretty nimble at slipping some holy water into drinks after spending too much time with Bobby so the girl didn't suspect a thing. Delaney watched her closely but when nothing happened she stopped to stand next to Dean.

'You should take care of that," She murmured, looking down at his bloody hands. She still couldn't get over the fact Dean had cut himself. He wasn't clumsy, he was actually pretty agile. She guessed it was everything going on but she still wasn't sure.

Dean looked down at it carelessly and shrugged, "I'd rather hear why she's here. Let's see if it's been worthwhile to treat her like a distinguished guest."

"Hey, I'm just being nice." Delaney held up her palms playfully and smiled. Her smile faded when she remembered her attitude earlier. She sighed, looking in the girl's direction. "You know… after my bipolar reactions earlier. I'm sorry about that, Dean. I just… well, we've always known I'm not the most stable person and I haven't been for a while. But still… no excuse."

"Yeah, well, I haven't exactly been Mr. Approachable. Guess we're even."

Delaney smiled when he gave her a small grin and she shook her head, giving a small laugh.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just… we're so messed up, man. One minute I'm happy as can be, and you're so angry you can punch a hole in the wall. Next, I'm borderline depressive and you're the one skipping. Imagine what that looks like to other people."

"Like we're a pair of escapees from the downtown mental facility."

"It ain't that far from the truth but ehh… why do they give a fuck?"

"I'd drink to that any day."

"Uhhh… am I allowed to get off this chair now?" Casyn called, the empty Styrofoam cup in her hand. She looked like she really wanted to get off of it, her body straight and stiff.

Delaney nodded, taking the cup from her and throwing it in the trash can. Casyn stood up, still holding her cut palm in her other hand. "So, you need help with a hunt?"

Casyn hesitated, watching as Delaney stuck the chair back under the table. She turned to Casyn, placing her hands on her hips. "I… not exactly."

"Then?" Delaney asked calmly, trying to read Casyn's expression.

"I don't know how to explain this… it's kind of hard. Well, really hard."

"I'm sure I can keep up." Delaney waited.

"Well, so this will make sense easily, I'll start from the beginning. I was born July 4th, 1984. My mom's name is Erica Nicole. Her maiden name was Rylee. My father's name was Connor M-"

"How is this relevant? Your life story isn't really letting me know why you're here." Delaney interrupted, crossing her arms.

"Don't interrupt me, please. Because then I won't be able to get this out." Casyn paused, waiting for Delaney's consent that she wouldn't. When she nodded, Casyn continued. "My father died when I was thirteen from demonic possession and Bobby Singer was the one that found me a new home. I ran away not much after but, anyway, that's not important. What happened was, I never knew much about my father's side of the family besides that he had a brother. They'd stopped talking a little after I was born and I'd never really met him. Until a few weeks ago I was going through his stuff and I found some type of… I guess it was a family tree. My father's parents were dead and my mother's parents disowned her when she married my dad, and she was an only child so when I saw my father's brother on the tree, I decided to look for him. I went to Bobby because I knew he was pretty much the best researcher ever so I told him who I was looking for. I was a little surprised he didn't even really have to look my uncle up because he said he already knew him. I was kind of excited and that made me think Bobby was even better than I thought at first but then he went all The Closer on me and wanted to know who I was and what they had done to Casyn or whatever. Kind of like how you guys were barking at me,"

Delaney was having a hard time keeping up with Casyn, and Delaney had a feeling she was the type that when gotten to talk, she wouldn't stop until she was done saying all the stuff running through her head.

Delaney's eyebrows were crinkled in concentration, trying to pick out the important stuff in between all of the rambling. It was actually kind of funny because before, Casyn had seemed a much bigger threat to her. Now, she couldn't help but see her as an overexcited talkative girl.

"Well, it took me awhile to make her realize it was the same weird old me and when he came to his senses he looked me up anyway to figure out if I could possibly be lying. Anyway, I swear you hunters are some paranoid bastards. How the hell do you have fun? All you do is place booby traps and interr-"

"Casyn." Delaney said, reminding her about what they had been talking about.

"Sorry, just nervous. He did a lot of researching. And I mean a lot! Then well… he realized I wasn't lying and then he double checked anyway. You can call him to make sure I'm not lying or a demon or a witch or whatever you might think I am because I know you guys will think I'm not me. But...yeah. My dad's name was Connor Mannings and my uncle's name was Damon Mannings married to Jane Isles and my cousin's name is Delaney Mary Mannings born July 7th, 1981. I'm your cousin."

* * *

><p><em><strong>DUM DUM DUMDUM!<strong>_

**_Leave your awesome reviews telling me what you think! Can't wait to read them. :)_**

**_Thank you all,_**

**_Mar98_**


	14. Turned Away: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Chapter Fourteen: Turned away

Albuquerque, New Mexico Dean's motel Room

August 25, 2003

Well, they sure hadn't seen that one coming. Delaney tried to keep her face composed but her hands were already clawing into her sides and Dean had a rising suspicion she wanted to wring Casyn's neck in them.

Dean watched them, just to make sure Delaney wouldn't hurt the girl. She wasn't one to use violence unless she absolutely had to but he wasn't as confident in her self-restraint at this point.

He was just as shocked as Delaney had been and probably even more skeptical the girl was telling the truth. Delaney didn't have any more family, as far as he knew. Bobby would've known. She wouldn't have had to stay with them as a kid if she did.

But as he ran his eyes over both girls and when once he had thought them complete total opposites, he noticed the similarity in their faces. They both had the thin small nose at the dead center of each of their faces. They both had the same almond shaped eyes and the heart-shaped lips.

Casyn was tanner but her skin would've been the same color as Delaney's, he would bet on it. Her lips were redder than Delaney's and more hydrated. Casyn also looked softer than Delaney if that was possible. He knew that came from not being a hunter, though.

And then came Casyn's colored eyes, completely contrasting Delaney's dark eyes. Casyn had longer hair and it was straight, thick. Delaney's hair was wavy, sometimes coming down in the random curl or two.

Dean would've said they were sisters if he didn't know better. There was enough different features in between them to know they definitely weren't the same person but there was also enough of the little stuff to realize they were related.

Casyn faltered under Dean's scrutiny, not pissed enough anymore to send a dirty look at him. She tried to keep her eyes on Delaney but instead just looked down at her hands.

Delaney finally spoke, her tone had enough anger for Casyn to note what she felt, "You're lying."

Casyn took a step closer to Delaney, her eyes showing confusion as to why it was such a hard thing to believe. Delaney noticed the look in her eyes and stepped back.

It was a hard thing to believe and she wasn't going to. It wasn't true. Not after everything, could she have a cousin. Real blood. It was a trick, a joke.

"I know you don't know me and I know you're having a hard time believing this. I don't even really believe it but it's true. And… I'm happy, Delaney. I'm…" It seemed like she had been about to say something important to her but instead she trailed off, thinking better of it. She took a deep breath and continued. "That wasn't the right thing to say right now but I mean it. I've been alone for a lot of my life and I know that's no excuse for breaking it to you like this but I just… I couldn't wait. I mean, maybe I should've gotten to know you better first but I had a feeling you weren't the immediate trusting type and I don't blame you but I just… I needed to find a way to tell you and this was the best I could come up with."

Delaney was still silent, she had toned her facial expression down to empty, like she did when something was bothering her.

Casyn watched her, her heart beating rapidly, waiting for a response. When she didn't see one coming soon, she continued, "I'm not asking anything from you. Not any money, not a house, not a car. Not even for you to really think of me as family because I know family is something that grows. Trust me, I know. I only wanted to really see you, to actually know you're real. To know that I'm not alone."

"Good." Delaney spoke suddenly catching Dean and Casyn by surprise.. She crossed her arms slowly and didn't say anything else.

Casyn waited expectantly for Delaney to say something else and when she didn't, she released a humorless chuckle, "'Good' what?"

"Good because I'm not giving you anything. I'm sorry honey, but I don't believe a single word. I need hard-core proof and even if you did have it, I'm still not your cousin. I'm still not your family."

Dean thought that was harsh but he knew where this was coming from. Family was a sensitive subject for Delaney, for him. If someone had barged into his life with a ridiculous claim like that, he'd have said the same thing.

"I have proof. You can call Bobby since he said he knows you. He can tell you everything."

"Right, about that. I don't think that's necessary. Because you just told me you met Bobby when you were thirteen, when your dad died. I would've been fifteen, right? Well, if we really had the same last name, he would've figured something. Bobby's smart. He wouldn't have missed something like that." The nice calm Delaney from earlier was gone. Now, she was cold and sharp, angry. "I don't believe you. I'm sorry."

"But I'm just telling you he looked me up! That he looked up your father and mine!" Casyn reminded, desperately.

"I don't care. Just… go, Casyn. I'm only asking you once."

"I'm your family, Delaney! You can't do this! Please!" Casyn stepped closer to her, her shoes clacking against the wooden floor. She tried to reach out to Delaney again but Delaney leaned back. "Come on, Delaney. I get it, I do. I've just… I'm so tired of having to look for you and for you to answer this way…" she paused, sighing. "Just please. I don't mean to be clingy like this but you can't… just don't kick me out like this without trying to investigate, please. You would owe that to anyone. To listen. "

"You said it yourself. I don't know you. I don't owe you anything. I'm sorry." Delaney responded, icily, her smooth arms crossed in front of her. The way with which she did it, made Casyn's anger flare.

Dean stepped closer behind her, placing his hand on her arm. She stiffened when he did, warning him to take it off and he did. He leaned closer to her, speaking quietly, "We can call Bobby, Delaney. Don't send her out like this."

"I'm sorry, Dean, but since when did you have a say in this?" She turned her head to look at him, her voice calm. She didn't snap it at him, but he could hear the hostility her words.

Oh well for the apologizing, for being jerks and letting out the anger at each other.

Dean stepped back, consenting to Delaney's body signals and staring at Casyn from behind Delaney. He'd just been trying to help and he wasn't appreciating the way she was treating him. It was pissing him off, alright.

Casyn looked at Dean, and he assumed she was waiting for him to do something else. He gave her a small shake of the head and turned around to face the window. He ran a hand over his face and listened silently, as Delaney told Casyn to leave again.

Dean was a little frustrated that she wasn't taking the time to ask Bobby about it all. He knew once she figured out that Casyn was related to her, if she was and he kind of did think she was, Delaney would feel bad. And then she'd be moaning about it. He was trying to help her out from having to go through that and trying to save himself from getting the backlash.

The room was silent for a moment but slowly, small footsteps retreated and afterwards, the sound of the chain on the door being unlocked was heard. The sweep of the door passing over the floorboards was heard and the door was softly closed.

Dean listened for Delaney's movements and when he heard her retreat to the kitchen, he turned and watched as she took an old cup down from one of the cabinets. She rinsed it in the sink and pulled the refrigerator door open, pulling out a half-full plastic bottle of coke.

Delaney did all of it stiffly, her movements hard and short.

"Well, I would've thought you'd be happy."

She'd been about to bring the cup of coke to her lips but she placed it on the counter, beside the not-so-new sink. She tilted her head down, placing her left hand on her waist. She remained silent for a moment, Dean watching her.

For a moment, he thought she might be crying but when she turned around, the right hand that had been resting on the counter, near the cup, sent the cup of coke flying into the sink with a loud clank. Her features showed she was clearly pissed-off; her mouth pressed into a tight line, the little he could see of her lips was white and puckered. He could tell she was clenching her teeth because her jaw was sticking out slightly, enough to give him that indication.

Delaney didn't take enough time to put on her jacket since she didn't think she could keep her temper under control if she stayed a second longer in the same room with Dean so she simply walked the few steps to the unclean old table and swept her keys up into her hand with one quick motion.

"Fine, okay. Walk out." Dean commented curtly, the tone of his voice not having any indication he could possibly be okay with the fact that she was.

Delaney didn't understand why it was okay when he did it. She did reproach him for it but he had always seemed to ignore her for it. One thing she hated more than anything, was to be ignored. As much as she knew that she wasn't always right and that it would seem childish if she threw a tantrum over it, she didn't like it at all. It was her one pet peeve. And Dean knew it.

So, she had been about to return the favor but the way in which he had said what he had, made her spin around when she had been about to reach the door, "Oh, I forgot that was only a Dean thing. My bad if I was trying to steal your signature move."

Dean tried to ignore the sniping accusation and stood up straight, his back leaving its place on the wall, "What if she is your family, Delaney? You just kicked out the only other Mannings left."

"With all the profiling you do and the lying I was sure you'd be able to see past her little innocent girl act. She wants something from us. From me, and I'll be damned if any other of those sons-a-bitches takes what I have left."

"I ain't no person-reader but I know you know that girl wasn't bad. And screw it, I'm even saying that after she kicked the crap out of me. You need to open your eyes, Delaney. You don't do that to family. No matter if they haven't gotten the chance to annoy the hell out of you," Dean stepped forward, speaking less harshly then he had before, but with still some firmness.

"Do what, exactly?" Delaney stepped forward as well, the venom in her voice seeding deep. She knew she'd regret it later but she had enough of Dean's double standard. Of his hypocrisy.

"Turn your back on them."

Delaney gave one nod, extremely slowly, letting the effect of what he had said seep into her mind and as it did, so did Dean. Delaney stared into his eyes and she could see, barely before he covered the feeling with a hard glare, the plead for her not to say it. To not return the sting.

Delaney, because she knew she couldn't take hurting Dean, turned away and jerked the motel door open. She gave Dean one last look and shook her head, angry accusing tears coming to her eyes, "I'm not gonna. Don't worry about me criticizing you anymore on that subject. But don't ever say I'm turning my back on my family. Not after…" she paused, her throat constricting. "Don't."

She turned away before he could see the tears fall. She slipped through the door, not bothering to close it.

…

And that was when Dean realized it. It had sure taken him a long time, more than it should have. But as he watched her abrupt departure, he knew it had hurt her too. That Sam had hurt her too.

He thought to himself more than he wanted to, he repeated it over and over, like a mantra, "It was just college. Man, get a grip!"

To everyone else that was probably what it seemed like. To a pair of normal ignorant parents the excitement and pride of proving their child was someone, worth something, made everything easier for them and they knew it was just college. They'd see their kids again. Dean did give them the credit for knowing that their brat would be on their own from then on. No help from them and he guessed they'd appreciate that somewhat.

He felt screwed over on that subject, but he knew he wouldn't. He didn't appreciate it or revel in it. He would've kicked attachment in the face right then.

Dean wasn't happy about it. He wasn't excited his brother had gotten into college. And even if he knew it was selfish he knew what Sam had done was even more so, he wasn't the least bit glad. He was proud, if the small amount of need to show-off what his brother had gotten into, counted. To him, it didn't even score. He was angry. He was disappointed. His brother had chosen what he wanted in the end, he being the key-word.

And everyone else would just have to deal with it.

Because the truth was, it wasn't college. It was pride, rebelling, blind-sightedness, ignorance, selfishness. It was not having the balls to give up what little you had, to do the right thing.

One thing he couldn't run through his head was that Sam, his Sam, the brother he had grown up with, could be willing to do that. Could do that.

Dean had wanted to shout out for his father to cool it that night. He just hadn't been able to see past the anger and the betrayal. The fact that Sam could turn away from him that easily.

And now he was just tired of being angry about it. It wasn't worth it anymore when his brother could just be in some big classroom writing down his little notes, learning how to be something better, something cleaner than the disgusting thing Dean was, not even sparing him one thought to account for the million Dean gave him.

He was more disappointed than anything. Hurt. And he hadn't been able to see it had hurt Delaney just as bad. Maybe even more since she'd always had more of a sensitive heart.

The difference between her and Sam, was bigger. Deney had always promised to come back. And she had. Sam hadn't said anything and they had both known, there was no coming back.

John had said it and Dean knew he had meant it.

The way Sam had turned away, the way John had told him to stay that way couldn't have possibly left anything open.

Sam was gone.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Our two-thirds of the little troublesome trio is having a hard time. Dean and Delaney are actually coming to grips with Sam's departure. I figured it would be a long process so I'm sorry if I'm mentioning it a lot and if it all sounds a little repetitive but come on. Sam is a big deal. Especially in their, "It's us against the world. " family. They weren't going to get over it so quickly. Especially Dean.<em>**

**_Don't worry about Casyn. She'll be back in the next chapter. :P You just got to love her._**

**_Thanks to all the readers and reviewers!_**

**_Deanwinchesterluvr91: I'm glad you liked it. :P Continue reading and telling me what you think._**


	15. Don't hold your breath: Albuquerque, NM

Chapter Fifteen: Don't hold your breath

Albuquerque, New Mexico Motel room

August 25, 2003

Hours after the Casyn encounter

"_Well, huh. Dean Winchester. Took you long enough to pick up the damn phone and dial my number_."

Bobby's voice was like he remembered it. A voice he wasn't ashamed to say he'd missed. He hadn't exactly understood why his father had stopped talking to him, but Dean hadn't gone against his dad. Bobby understood that.

As soon as he'd gotten out of the motel room, he'd looked for Delaney. She hadn't been anywhere in sight and honestly, Dean hadn't expected anything less than that.

Dean had already been itching to start on his new hunt but the distractions kept coming at him like he didn't know.

Dean was outside of a minimart a few blocks south of the motel. He'd finished pumping gas into the Impala and he'd been lingering next to the payphone, unsure if Bobby would answer, since he assumed he wouldn't know his number.

Dean was only slightly surprised when he had.

"Sorry about that. Listen, a few hours ago a girl about five feet two inches picked her way into my motel room. Black hair, blonde hi-" Dean turned to look at the man that had stepped in front of the payphone he'd been deliberating whether to use and caught a whiff of something strong. Alcohol. The man stumbled forward, using the payphone to balance himself out and dug into his pocket for money. Dean stepped aside slightly, the smell of the man like toxic gas. It wasn't only alcohol he smelled like.

"You didn't shoot her did you?"

"Well, I would say we got pretty close. Especially Delaney. So you did send this girl?" Dean watched the drunk cautiously as he dropped the quarter he'd been trying to jam into the pay-phone the wrong way. It rolled away from him, veering off of the higher step of concrete they were on and into the gutter. It fell with a metallic clank and a splash of water.

"Casyn Nicole Rylee Mannings. I'm surprised you don't remember her. Well, you weren't the one that was all googly eyed over…"

Bobby trailed off and it took Dean a moment to realize why.

The memory of a summer long ago flashed in his mind and he finally knew where he'd seen those eyes. Sam and him had spent a summer at Bobby's, one of the only summers John had been willing to give them a long needed rest and had gone on his own for a little bit. Dean honestly had preferred being with his father but Sam had drunken the freedom and rest in like if it had been a big sweaty glass of much needed water.

Dean guessed he should've noticed the way Sam preferred lying around like a good for nothing ass instead of helping their dad out and saving people, but like any other time, Dean had ignored it.

That summer, Bobby had left Dean and Sam alone for a day because there had been signs of demon activity nearby and since Bobby had been the only one near enough to deal with it quickly, he'd strapped up his holy water vials and his exorcism books.

Dean had been seventeen then and now that he remembered it, it had only been a few months after Delaney had gone off on her own. The girl Bobby had brought home had only been thirteen or fourteen, he could only remember she'd been around Sam's age.

She hadn't talked much at first and when Sam had asked her if she wanted to go light off some fireworks with them she'd only softly shaken her head. Dean hadn't honestly wanted her to go anyway because it was his and Sammy's moment. They'd needed one.

After the first week or so, he'd noticed her and Sam had talked. He'd even been mildly surprised one afternoon to hear a loud high laugh ring through the house. Dean remembered how badly it had reminded him of Delaney's.

He also remembered the sad look Sam had had on his face when Bobby had finally decided to send the girl to one of his friends that could find her a home. A real home.

They'd never seen her again.

Her name had been Casyn. And he had seen her again.

Dean ignored the not so smooth way Bobby had diverted from mentioning Sam, "I remember her. She really related to Laney?"

Bobby's deep sigh sounded on the other line, "I looked her up, Dean, and it sure seems so. I don't know how I went by not asking the girl her last name back then but I sure didn't. I figured she wouldn't tell me her real name anyway. It would've saved us this surprise."

"I thought surprises were supposed to be happy and involve confetti."

"Delaney didn't take it so good."

"She practically kicked her out. Well, not literally but it wasn't much short than that. She doesn't want to believe it."

"I told Casyn to let me explain things first but… well; I thought it funny how Delaney and her had that stubborn streak in common."

"There's no way she could be playing you?"

"I'm a con man, boy. I know every play in the book."

"Uh… well, thanks."

"Listen… Is Delaney okay?"

"I don't know. She walked out on me. She's been real moody lately."

"Well, a lot of things affecting her. She usually doesn't crack that good under pressure but when she does, it's usually because something is really aggravating her. Just give her a breather. She can get violent when you don't give her space."

"Delaney, get violent? Never." Dean joked.

"Well, you haven't seen her yet. The girl can beat anyone's ass if she gets a good mind to." Bobby paused and Dean knew he was mulling over his words.

Bobby was like a father to Dean. Or, had been. The old man was one hell of a person and as much as he'd been itching to go hunt some monsters with his real father, he hadn't hated staying at Bobby's. The man's place held more of his happy memories than anyplace he'd ever stayed at, could.

"Dean… she's been worried sick about you."

Dean instantly muttered seriously, "I don't want to talk about it."

"I know, son. I'm not gonna dive into uninvited territory. I know better. But anything involving Delaney is more than my business. It's my job. We both know she can be about the most annoying nosy little brat in the whole damn universe sometimes. Hell, every day that ends with a Y she's like a bad version of an over-protective mother bear. But, she means well." Bobby sighed. "She's about the sweetest girl I've ever met and as much as she has an annoying habit of taking everything onto herself, most of the time she makes sense. And if you can't let this flow for yourself, do it for her. It'll bother her a lot longer otherwise."

"Yeah…" Dean hesitated. "I guess. I'll talk to you later, Bobby."

"Look out for yourself."

"Yeah."

…

Delaney knew it was stupid. Most of the time she wasn't up for stupid. A pack of beer and a bucket of fireworks was as dumb as she would ever get. Jo's eyebrows still hadn't looked that well after that incident and Delaney still had small scars at the back of her hands from scrubbing clean all the kitchen supplies without even stopping to use the John. Ellen had told Bobby too but she'd been lucky she hadn't seen him until years after.

Her stupid was different. She wasn't up for any near-death experiences because her situation wasn't even that bad anyway and because she'd had enough of those to last a life time. Going to the Zoo was good enough for her. She hadn't been able to get it completely out of her mind since she'd argued with Dean over it. To her, Elephants were more than worth it for some people to give her some funny stares.

It took her an hour or two of walking around Albuquerque to figure out there was no zoo in the city. At least not one she could find. But then, there was a carnival. And that made her forget her need to eat some city council.

Delaney bought a ticket at the booth barely big enough for the two guys in it, each in charge of one long sweaty line of people.

Once she got through the line and bought her ticket, she stepped through the large open gates with a small bag of popcorn she'd bought at the concession stand beside the ticket-booth. She ate from it calmly, looking at the rides and games.

There weren't many of the big scary rides and she was okay with that anyway. She hated heights like she hated cats. There was just something disconcerting about being so far from the ground, about seeing her feet dangling uselessly under her. She liked to be in control of things. If she wasn't, it was about the scariest thing to her.

And that was why she knew she was nine types of crazy. Most people enjoyed the unpredictability of life. She felt like aiming a good kick at anyone who brought up anything about chance, or fate for that matter. She wanted to be in charge of her life.

There were various face-painting booths and little kid ring throwing games but besides that, there wasn't much going on.

Delaney found herself attracted to a knock-the-bottle down stand and paid one dollar for three fluorescent pink balls.

People were waiting behind her so she just aimed at the platform in front of her with big bottles and small bottles, some place higher or lower than the others, with the number of points painted on them.

She missed the first time and the young guy standing aside, in charge of the game, reassured her, "You still got two more balls."

Delaney didn't say anything but just aimed at the highest bottle and to no surprise, it was the smallest. But it was worth the most points.

"It's worth two hundred points and if you knock it down, you get the big bear." The guy laughed too cheerily, raising a hand to the many stuffed animals dangling from the roof of the booth, and tugged at the foot of a large black stuffed bear.

Delaney heard a little girl gasp admiringly and mumble distractedly to her parent that she wanted that one.

Delaney didn't waste time but threw the ball with a twist of her wrist and the bottle fell. The guy was silent for a moment but Delaney saw him burst into a smile and people clapped encouragingly from behind her.

"I don't need this anymore," Delaney smiled, handing the guy the ball back. The guy took it and threw it in a bucket full of balls the same color. He pulled the bear down and handed it to Delaney.

It was huge but not heavy, it was soft and it felt nice in her arms. She turned around and caught the little girl that had said she wanted it, looking at her with horrified green eyes. Delaney knew how kids were so before she could burst into tears, she kneeled and held out the bear carefully, like she'd been meaning to.

The little girl was confused for a moment but her mother smiled a gentle smile and patted her on the shoulder, "Take it."

The girl took it shyly and Delaney stood up, already heading away.

Casyn, if that was what really her name. kept reappearing in her mind. Even when she tried to tune her out with the carnival music, even when she had tried to focus on the little kid laughter and the cursing of rowdy teenagers.

Delaney would take anything over Casyn being family. She knew Dean was having a hard time understanding why she had reacted the way she did, and if she was honest with herself, so did she.

It made her think she was beyond crazy. It made her think all of the precautions had turned her into an equivalent of a paranoid old hoot. She guessed she was.

It would just cause more complications than she thought it worth, if Casyn was related to her. Complications in her life and in Casyn's. The girl was better off without her and Delaney felt she was better off without the young chick too.

The harsh way in which she had kicked her out kept haunting her as well. As uncomfortable as she would've felt having let the girl stay one night with them or gave her some money for a room, she knew it would've been the best decision. The most decent.

Delaney shook thoughts of the girl from her head and gave a few looks at the place and just decided to leave. The sky looked dark and not only because it was going to be night soon, but she could feel the humidity in the air. It was going to rain soon and she didn't want to walk back to the motel in the rain.

She'd cooled down enough to feel confident she wouldn't go off on Dean again but she still didn't think she'd be able to talk to him. They could practice their silent game skills.

Delaney was tired of Dean. She was over being frustrated and annoyed. She'd given up. As pig-headed as she could be, she wasn't stupid and she refused to be. She wasn't going to waste her time on him anymore. She wasn't going to cause any more fights in between them and risk her actually punching him next time.

Delaney would respect his choices.

She was still angry about the way he'd been treating her and if she wanted to, she could hold a grudge forever, but it was a waste of her energy. She was just tired now.

She sighed softly, tossing her empty bag of popcorn into a large blue trashcan by a mini-version of a carousel, the flashing lights cutting through the gloomy mood of the weather.

Delaney caught her breath when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, feeling for the knife in her right pocket.

Casyn had changed clothes, a pair of dark blue hip huggers framing her lower body. Black converse peeked out from under them and the tan skin of her arms showed from the black tank-top she was wearing. Her hair was up in a messy bun exposing her long smooth neck and oval face.

"You followed me." Delaney said angrily, shaking Casyn's hand off.

"The surprise in your face makes me kind of giddy. I knew I had to up it a little if I was gonna get one by your paranoid ass," Casyn's voice wasn't hostile but It wasn't as excited as it had been before.

"Get lost, Casyn. I will hurt you this time," Delaney still had her hand over her pocket and Casyn looked at her hand expressionless.

"I'd like to think you're all talk. Knives are kind of my thing anyways," she shrugged, staring Delaney in the eyes. "Your buddy couldn't even aim a good one at me, what makes you think you could bring me down?"

"I don't get what you want." Delaney crossed her arms, letting the angry confusion she was feeling slip onto her face. She didn't bother to step forward to intimidate her. She knew it wasn't going to work now. "You don't want money. You don't want a ride."

"I wanted to talk to you without the need for any weapons or interruptions. I wanted you to understand what I want." Casyn answered simply.

"I think I heard enough earlier," Delaney sighed, looking away, her angry expression slipping, leaving a bored look behind. She watched as a little boy jumped off of a carousel horse.

"Well I think you need to hear more. I'm not a liar and I don't appreciate it when someone calls me that. Anything else I may be. An easily excited nineteen year-old, a pain in the ass. But I've never lied to you in the little time I got to see you have some serious trust issues," Casyn paused, her voice loosening up, most of the tension in it, dissipating. "All I wanted was to let you know that I'm family. Or of blood. Whatever you want to call it. If blood to you, is a stranger then I'm definitely a stranger. I don't doubt we're related because I see some of me in you, no matter how lame that sounds. And your boyfriend seemed to believe it too. I saw it on his face. I saw it on yours too."

"I understood that. Yeah, maybe my father was related to yours. I guess I'd be related to you too. But that's about the only thing tying us to each other and that's the way it's gonna stay." Delaney answered, turning to face her again. She shifted onto her left foot and shrugged like, "What are you gonna do?"

Casyn's face softened further, into a slightly hurt expression. "I saw you give that girl the bear. I don't understand."

"What, did you want it?"

"How could you be so sweet to someone you know less than the little you know me, and treat me like crap? I thought at least being human scored me some points."

"Yeah, well, I'm still not sure about that one." Delaney gave up on getting her to walk away so she did it herself. She slipped in between people, not expecting for the footsteps behind her to fade to silence anytime soon.

"I don't understand you, Delaney. You're like some… crazy puzzle that's starting to piss the hell out of me. Right when I start to get somewhere, fit the pieces, you leave me clueless again." Casyn's voice was right behind her.

"Well, too much Clue does that to you." Delaney slipped in between a couple, not looking back when they gave a complaint.

"I don't have time for your jokes, Delaney." Casyn muttered darkly.

"Well, don't stick around to hear them and we're cool." Delaney headed out of the front gates, stalking past the longer line. Traffic was getting worse but she didn't have to worry about it since she was going to have to walk back to the motel.

The thump of Casyn's tennis shoes behind her were driving her insane. Having her back to her as well, was making her feel uncomfortable.

To Delaney's surprise, Casyn didn't her open her mouth again but that wasn't enough to make her feel better. She wanted her gone.

As they reached the edge of the sidewalk, the corner where the streetlights were located, Delaney spun around and Casyn stopped walking. The sound of the cars was loud but it wasn't loud enough for Delaney to have to shout. It would've made her feel better to do so, though.

"Stop following me, Casyn. I'm serious." Delaney warned, stepping closer to the streetlight, waiting for it to change to walk.

It was pretty dark now, the night having taken over. Delaney didn't mind walking at night to get away from Casyn faster.

"No. Not until you tell me what you have against me." Casyn answered curtly, watching Delaney carefully.

"A lot of things right now. Like the fact that you don't know the meaning of personal space." Delaney pushed her back softly when she got too close to her.

Casyn ignored this and continued to speak, "No, I mean what you have against me being family."

Delaney actually thought about her answer and when she found it, she answered carefully, stepping back, away from Casyn, "I'm not someone you should be around. It'd be better if you just went away, Casyn. A lot better."

Casyn didn't react to that but just asked simply, "For who?"

"For both of us." Delaney sighed, running a hand through her hair and lowering her voice. "But if you want to talk about amount, for you. I wouldn't be considered a very social person. Mostly by choice but also 'cause people with enough sense know to stay away from me."

Casyn listened silently, ignoring the feeling of fat wet drops hitting her head and shoulders. Delaney cursed softly when one landed on her cheek.

"And…" Delaney tried not to let a lot of emotion be heard in her voice. She hated having to be mean, but she needed to get Casyn away. Not only for her but for the girl as well. "Don't take this as if I care about you. I just don't want anyone else's blood on my hands."

Casyn looked up from her hands and muttered quietly, "That's harsh."

The look of her blue/gray hurt eyes in between the loose hair from her bun almost made Delaney apologize. The girl just had something vulnerable and delicate under the strong stubborn face. It sent a pang through her chest when she realized the look reminded her of Sam. The rain was coming down harder, swirling in mini rivers that led down to the gutter. Delaney was beginning to shiver, her hair already starting to feel heavy with the water. "Well, so's life, kid." Delaney let her conscious get to her earlier than she'd intended. She dug through her pockets and removed a wad of cash.

Casyn watched her silently when she held out the wad.

"Take it. Get out of the rain." Delaney shivered when rain quickly covered her arm. She needed to get under a roof.

"I don't want it. I told you I didn't." Casyn answered. Delaney shrugged and stuck the money back in her pocket. She turned away and began to cross the street. Casyn watched her. "You're scared."

Delaney froze and turned around slowly, "Excuse me?"

"I know you are. I know the look of someone who's been alone most of their life because I see it in the mirror every day. You've closed yourself off and it sucks it's to your own family."

Delaney had been about to cross the street but she took a step in Casyn's direction. Away from the street. She opened her mouth to say something but instead she just shook her head and smiled without humor or interest.

"Deny it all you want, Delaney. But I know you. I know you because I'm exactly like you. I'm scared of being alone. I'm scared of not leaving anyone behind who cares for me. I-"

"You don't know me, sweetheart. Not even close." Delaney didn't say it angrily or accusingly. The rain served to cool her anger.

"I do. We've both lost our parents. We've both had to practically raise ourselves. We've closed ourselves off, you're the only one in years I've been this honest with. And either of us doesn't have to be alone anymore." Casyn said quietly.

Delaney gave a sad smile, "No. We're not the same person. I've… well let's just say I've gone through a lot more than most people. I've seen a lot more than most people. But, you know what, I'm tired of bitching about it so you're just gonna have to trust me on how dysfunctional I am."

"You're not doing me a favor."

"I didn't expect you to thank me, anyway."

"I guess family means nothing to you."

It was the second time that day she'd been accused of failing family. Maybe she had before, maybe she was. She was tired of being judged for caring about someone. She didn't care anymore. "I guess so."

"I'm not going to give up. I'm going to earn your trust. One day you'll trust me, one day you'll realize fighting me wasn't worth it." Casyn responded softly. Her hair was dripping now, thin rivers spilling down her face as well as Delaney's. But Delaney had a suspicion Casyn was crying too.

"Don't hold your breath."

…

Dean had given up on Delaney coming back to the motel that night. He was only a little worried about where she would stay because when she put herself to it, Delaney was as good a liar and manipulator as the rest of them.

After heading for the medical examiner's office when he had given up on finding her, he'd bumped into Caleb, one of his dad's old friends. He'd insisted he take the case and as much as Dean had argued, he knew he wasn't up for one right then. He needed some distraction, he'd assumed movies could do the job just as good.

He'd been wrong.

After flipping through the channels he hadn't been able to find anything that could erase the thoughts from his mind completely so he'd just turned the T.V off and gotten ready for bed.

From the restroom, he couldn't help but look over at the empty sofa every now and then and listen for the knob being turned.

By the time he was in bed he'd made himself let it go and close his eyes. He fell asleep to the sound of the rain hitting the roof above him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Okay, my peeps. This time I do have a very reasonable excuse for not updating...<strong>_

_**My internet was down. Like bad. On both of my computers.**_

**_This is a very depressing section, I know. And it's just gonna get worse before it gets better. But don't worry, it will get better._**

**_And just so you guys know (Although you guys are already aware of how moody and inconsistent Delaney's emotions are), Delaney takes a while and a lot of arguments to get used to the fact that Casyn will be sticking around. Because she will. Doesn't mean it will be a pleasant experience. But you never know, the girls might surprise you. ;)_**

**_Thanks for all the fabulous reviews and keep them coming! :) I'll do my best to keep the chapters coming! :)_**

**_~Mar98_**


	16. That Makes Two: Albuquerque, NM

Chapter Sixteen: That makes two

August 26th, 2003 One in the Morning

The sound of the motel room door being opened made Dean wake up. He woke up smoothly, his eyes opened slowly. John had stressed the fundamentalism of not springing on an opponent. It almost always went wrong.

It had stopped raining hard but the water was still hitting the window. The ongoing drum of car engines and the occasional splash of puddle water was heard.

Dean slid his hand slowly, under his pillow and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his knife and listened silently, keeping his breathing deep and slow.

Soft footsteps neared his bed and Dean's eyes crinkled in confusion when he heard the sound of water dripping. His heart was pumping adrenaline through his body, his body tensing as he tried to control the urge to spring up and out of bed.

Soft sniffles neared him and he moved, sitting up when he realized who it was. In the dark, he could see Delaney's figure and when she moved slightly forward, he could see she was soaking wet. Her eyes looked swollen and red and her mouth was trembling.

She didn't wait for him to say anything and she didn't say anything either, not a word slipped her mouth. Dean turned on the lamp by his bed, and let her lie down next to him.

He had been right. He'd had no idea what any of what had been going on, had affected Delaney. She was a crying, silent mess.

He got up and went to the restroom for a towel and when he came back, he found his new bottle of whiskey in her hands. She was leaning against the headboard of the bed, her eyes closed.

Dean watched her for a moment then stood next to her, handing her the towel, "You're wet and I don't want to have to go out and buy some cold medicine. Dry yourself then you should take a shower."

Delaney didn't say anything but held out the bottle of whiskey, her eyes still closed.

"No thanks. I'm not really in the mood for a buzz." Dean held out the towel but she wouldn't take it. He sighed then took the bottle of whiskey and placed it on the bedside table. He grabbed her arm and stood her up. She didn't say anything but she did open her eyes. "Pick up your arms."

Delaney did, and he pulled her shirt off of her. He left her with her undershirt and dug through her duffel for a pair of sweatpants. He tossed them at her and she barely caught them. He grabbed her towel and left, throwing it in the restroom.

When he came back she was changed but sitting on the floor, her head on her knees.

He didn't know what had happened while she was gone but it looked like something big. He hesitantly sat next to her and she picked up her head. Tears were streaming down her face and her eyes were full of them as well.

Her voice didn't break when she said it, but the weak way she did, was enough to convey the pain, "I can't. Not anymore."

Dean didn't understand and he watched as she grabbed the bottle of whiskey. She took a long gulp. He would've laughed any other moment at the inexperienced way she gulped it down, struggling with the burning sensation it gave her throat.

"Booze doesn't fix anything. I mean, maybe for a while but it ends up making you feel worse the next day."

Delaney gave a humorless chuckle. She handed the bottle to him. He didn't take it and she turned to him, "I'm letting you drink, Dean. I'm letting you fill that big hole you have in your chest, the one in mine. Even if it is for a little while."

Dean watched her and when she bumped the bottle into his chest, he took it. She looked away, breathing quietly.

He took a drink.

…

2 hours later

"You know, there are a lot of things I've never asked you." Dean drawled, passing Delaney a freshly opened bottle of vodka, the empty whiskey bottle long forgotten.

They were lying down in the middle of the motel room, Delaney sprawled out on the floor her head located closely by Dean's.

She took the bottle not bothering to sit up right but found an awkward position to take a swig of the bottle. She struggled to gulp it down, the alcohol burning down her throat. She place the bottle on the floor and fell back, accidentally swishing some onto the carpet. "Yeah? Oops!" She gave a loud drunken laugh when she tried to place the bottle down and hit it with her elbow.

"Yeah. Hey! Don't spill the booze." Dean snatched the bottle away from her. It slipped from in between his fingers but he managed to catch it before it could hit the floor with a thud. He gave a laugh similar to Delaney's and sat up to take another drink. "Like, what's your favorite color?"

"Ummm… what?" Delaney slurred, giving a disbelieving snort.

"Your… favorite color."

"I don't know. Rainbow?"

"That…" Dean pointed at her, struggling to sit upright. "Is cheating. You need to pick one."

"No."

"Fine… Uhh.. who was the first guy you ever kissed?"

"I'm not tellin…. You!" Delaney burped loudly then gave into a fit of giggles. "And anyway… get the romanticism out of this conservation…"

"You said that wrong…. Lane…"

Delaney, who had been giggling uncontrollably, stopped short at that. That nickname. Her father.

Dean, as drunk as he was, noticed how she went quiet and turned to her. "You okay?"

She wasn't okay. Even if the alcohol numbed her to it for a while, she wasn't okay and she was never going to be okay. She'd come to grips with that.

"Yeah." She cleared her throat and sat up slowly, grabbing onto Dean's fore arm. She took the bottle from Dean and took another swig. He watched her closely, their shoulders against each other's.

He was having trouble concentrating as well and as he watched Delaney lean back against her arms, he couldn't help it. He knew it was wrong but he was numb to everything, the voice in his head telling him that he couldn't do this again like all those years ago, that if she broke his heart he wouldn't be able to take it again, not from her. He was numb to the panic that would have risen up in his chest or the nerves that would have made his hands shake as they grabbed her face in his hands.

Dean had always been smooth with women. But Delaney… she was… she was different. He'd spent a lot of his years trying to remember that. But at that moment, he forgot.

Dean slowly leaned towards her and Delaney, momentarily confused, didn't move. When he got close enough that she could feel his breath against her cheek, her heart stopped.

What was he doing?  
>And before she could guess, his lips were on hers. Delaney took longer than usual to react but when she did, Dean was caught by surprise.<p>

It had been awhile since Delaney had slept with anyone and she had this fading pit in her stomach that was trying to warn her she was seriously going to regret this in the morning but she let go anyway.

She grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him harder, all the anger and hurt she felt at that moment pouring out of her and into that kiss.

He knew it was wrong to use her as a distraction from his problems. He knew it was. But he couldn't stop. He couldn't. He knew this would ruin so many things in between them but he couldn't. Not now.

He pushed her onto her back, running his mouth down her throat and pulling down her sweatpants. Delaney responded by slipping her hands underneath his t shirt and pulling it off over him.

She was breathing hard because Dean was barely giving her enough time to breathe before planting his mouth against hers. Delaney, despite being drunk, absorbed the feel of Dean, realizing that she'd thought of this moment many times before but had tried to keep that secret even from herself. And she knew, she knew Dean could not be with her. She could not be with him. Not ever. But she couldn't stop.

She unbuckled his pants, burrowing her head in his neck.

It took Dean awhile to realize it but… it felt wrong. All wrong. Delaney felt extremely good but the way things were happening didn't. All the other girls he'd ever had sex with kept running through his head and Delaney… she just didn't fit.

Not her.

"Stop." He pulled back, his voice breaking. "Just… not you. Of all people… not you."

Delaney, as drunk as she was, pulled back, breathing hard. She watched Dean carefully, moving her hair out of her face.

"Just… Goddamnit, not you." Dean let himself fall back on his butt, letting his face fall into his hands. He didn't speak for a while as Delaney tried to regain her breath.

"Dean… are you okay?" She whispered, the skin around her eyes crinkled in worry when he didn't answer. Despite the lower half of her only being in underwear, she scooted forward, placing her hands on his knees and bending her face so she could try to see his even as it was facing down. "Dean."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what… it's not that…" He looked up and Delaney pulled back softly. He sounded so sober and heavy but his eyes still showed how drunk he was. "I can't have sex with you Delaney. You're not like all those other girls and you won't ever be."

He said it with such force that Delaney was a little taken aback, "Dean, I have had sex before."

"Just not with me. And we're-" Dean tried to get to his feet but he struggled, stumbling a little before being able to walk the short distance to his bed, "we're keeping it that way."

"Hey," Delaney got up in less time and with more agility than Dean and followed him, "You kissed me. I didn't do anything."

Dean gave a loud laugh which sounded more like a crude bark to Delaney and turned to her, "You kissed me back so don't try to be the victim here."

"I'm drunk! What do you expect?" Delaney watched as Dean pushed back the covers of the bed and climbed in with boots and all.

"I'm drunk too and I managed to stop myself. I didn't see you pushing me away," he grumbled turning the other way and making a big show of pulling the covers over his head.

"After you attacked me with your lips! You're not so innocent, hotshot."

Dean didn't retaliate from under the covers and Delaney wasn't about to let him fall asleep. She rounded the bed and slipped in, pulling the covers over them both. She wasn't angry anymore and she didn't feel like fooling around either. She knew how low it was but she was going to take advantage of how drunk they both were so they could talk. So Dean could finally open up.

"Dean…"

"Get off of my bed, you have your couch."

"Dean." She said it more forcefully.

"Can't I rest in peace?"

"Hell no. Just… What did your dad tell Sam?"

Dean, who had been mumbling incoherent things and had been struggling to turn the other way but getting tangled in the covers, stopped moving and went quiet. He felt a stab of pain when his brother was mentioned and he was disappointed that the alcohol was slowly starting to wear off.

"Dean," She scooted forward, knowing to not touch him. "What did John say?"

"He said, 'If you walk out that door, don't you ever come back'" Dean's voice was empty and harsh.

Before Delaney could let that sink in, Dean spoke again, "You wanted me to talk about it. I'll do it. Not for me. For you." Dean muttered, still facing away from her. "It was like… like admitting defeat. Talking about all this shit but I… I knew there was no going back after letting dad say that. Seeing Sam just stare at me like if I was supposed to pick in between the two of 'em. I could see him asking me for that. I … didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I was angry, Delaney. I wanted to punch him in the face a few times. I couldn't believe he'd be so easy about turning his back on his family. We needed him. Dad needed him and he didn't care.'

Anger found the way into his voice soon enough, "And you know, you know you're really good for nothin' when you can't keep your damn family under the same roof. And then you have the balls to feel pathetic because it hurts like a bitch. When you have this hole in your gut that you just… most of the time you don't even know what it is. It's just there and you don't know how to make it stop."

"You're not pathetic, Dean. None of this was your fault. I should have been there. If you would have called me, maybe I would have-"

"Would have what, Delaney?" Dean abruptly turned to face her and their faces were inches from each other's. Delaney moved back a little at the angry look in his eyes. "You couldn't have done anything and you know it."

"I could have been there for you." Delaney, for once, didn't hide the hurt from her eyes.

"I don't need anybody. I'll get over it in time. Why should I worry about the ungrateful brat when he doesn't even give a damn?"

"You can just go on saying and saying that you don't need anybody but you aren't fooling anyone. Everyone needs human contact. Everyone."

"Well, I've learned to let that one pass 'cause everyone leaves in the end anyway." He tried to pass it off like it didn't bother him, like it was just a slip of the words, but Delaney knew that was hurting him. That it had been for a long time.

Delaney remembered having talks like these with Sam but never with Dean. Of course, she had never had to get Sam drunk for any of them, but speaking to Dean like this, reminded her of when they were younger and couldn't stand one another. They still couldn't, in a sense. Their patience wore thin when around each other.

"I leave. A lot. I have. But I always come back, Dean. I do. And I promise I always will."

Dean just turned away and when he didn't make a sound for a while, and Delaney felt like that was going to be it for the night she began to move out of the bed, he spoke.

"Why do you come back?"

Delaney stopped moving and thought about it. She actually really thought about it instead of just answering with the obvious, "Well, I love you guys."

She slowly moved closer to Dean, pressing her side against his back. "Why not?"

Dean gave a loud chuckle and turned to face her. The amusement on his face confused Delaney. "You're full of bullshit. You downplay it. Are you really that screwed up in the head that you'd want to come back to us, is what I'm asking?"

"Yeah, I am, actually. We aren't getting the family award of the year anytime soon but it's better than not having one."

"'We'…" Dean mulled the word over, staring up at the ceiling. Delaney scooted a little away from him now that he wasn't turned away from her. "You consider yourself a part of this family."

It wasn't a question so Delaney just gave a shrug. "As much as you've tried to keep me out of it."

Dean gave another chuckle then sighed softly. "I'm so drunk the room is spinning."

"I'm so drunk there are two of you." Delaney replied just as serious.

"I'm so drunk I actually_ kissed_ you."

At that, Delaney let out a loud laugh, "I'm so drunk I actually _liked_ it."

"Please, my kisses are so good they get you drunk."

Delaney was laughing so hard at this point she could barely breathe while Dean was just smirking amusedly, "I believe….. you got that wrong…. You see…. Your kisses are so bad you have to get me drunk….. for me to like them…."

"I didn't hear you complaining."

"That's because I was scared for my life."

It was strange really. How in the middle of the worst time in her life, laughing drunkenly with Dean could make her feel like she wasn't a hunter, like their family was okay, that nothing was going on, that it was just a regular night full of drunken fun when just a few moments earlier Dean had tried to have sex with her then stopped himself guiltily and recounted the horrible cruelness of John's words.

It made her feel like if sometimes she could forget. Even if it was for a moment.

"Dean…." She whispered after a while of silence.

"Yeah?" He said sleepily.

"I don't feel like a hunter right now." The way she said it reminded Dean of when they were kids. Of the innocence and sweetness she'd always spoken with. Until she'd grown older and realized the world wasn't made for the innocent and sweet.

"I suppose that's good."

"Yeah, it is."

"The booze does that for you."

Delaney let out a snort then turned to him, lying down on her side.

Dean turned to her slightly, laughter in his eyes. Delaney was a little disappointed when she could still see the sadness lingering behind them. But it wasn't like he could ever completely erase that from his eyes. She couldn't either. Because there was always an underlying layer of sadness.

"I'm glad I know what kissing you is like."

Dean was caught off guard by the statement and Delaney tried to remain silent and watched him closely. He opened his mouth to say something then shook his head.

"You're so drunk." He turned away from her and Delaney laughed. "Trying to be deep." He muttered.

"I know why people love me. 'Cause I got a great ass."

"But no boobs whatsoever. And what does that have to do with the... 'revious statement?"

Delaney kicked hard and laughed when Dean groaned.

"Actually….." Dean sounded like he was slowly drifting off to sleep. "You have a nice pair on you."

"Shut up."

And before they knew it, they were both asleep.

…

August 26, 2003

Dean usually handled hang-overs like a pro. Eat a greasy breakfast, pop a few head-ache pills, get something to distract him from any of the awkward events the night before.

That day was different. As soon as he woke up, the events from the night before filled his mind. Words flying from his mouth without the least regard if any of them made sense. Delaney pulling at his hair, her foot digging into his stomach, kissing her, her tears, talking about his dad and Sam. The night before wouldn't have landed in the same classification as his other drunk nights.

Pain seared through his head and he groaned, turning the other way. Through his eyelashes he could see the light was on and the T.V was on loud. He opened his eyes all the way and saw Delaney's back to him, messing around with the dishes in the sink. He propped himself up on the elbow and sent a short glance at the T.V. It was turned to The Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck arguing over what type of hunting season it was.

He meant to turn away, look back at Delaney, but his attention was diverted when Daffy got shot in the face the first time. Dean let out a low chuckle but winced in pain when it flashed pain through his temples.

"Heavy hangover?"

Delaney was facing him, a pair of ripped shorts exposing her long lean legs and a spaghetti strap aqua blue shirt under her long black hair. She had it parted more to the left side and that day it was more curly than wavy. Soft delicate curls around her oval face. She leaned back against the sink, her elbows on the counter and her hands slack on either side of her waist.

Dean thought she looked a little cranky but when he didn't answer she gave a small smile,"Yeah, I figured."

"What, you're peachy?" Dean sat up, his pants and shirt still on. It was a good sign to him. He let his feet hang over the side of the bed and he reached for his boots.

"Kind of. But I was smart enough to take some head-ache pills. But, I know you'll say it's because you can't concentrate. Delaney could never be smarter than Dean, no." She smirked, tossing him a bottle of pills.

Dean caught them and opened them, shaking out two into his palm. He stuck them in his mouth and reached for the cup of water on the bedside table he assumed Delaney had put there, in case he woke up thirsty. He placed it back on the bedside table and let out a raspy breath.

"I can give you a head-rub or whatever it's called. It'll make you feel better," she stepped forward but Dean waved it off.

"I'm fine," He stood up after lacing up his boots and reached for his button-down.

"Suit yourself," Delaney pulled out a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and opened it with a release of pressure. She took a long drink, looking at Dean from the corner of her eyes. She paced the orange juice on the counter and smacked her lips satisfactorily. "Oh! You were here on a hunt, right? How's that been going?"

She dismissed the thought of his hunt involving anything that could change shapes. It gave her the heebie-jeebies.

"I ran into Caleb at the medical examiner's office. Said he'd take care of it," Dean put on his jacket, looking at the T.V.

"What are you gonna do now, then?" Delaney took a careful sip from her orange juice.

"Well, first, I'm gonna go get some pancakes with some hash browns and a big cup of coffee then I'm gonna call dad and see what else he's got for me," Dean struggled to adjust the back of his collar.

"Here," Delaney stepped forward, placing the bottle down and placing her hands behind his neck, at the collar. She folded it down right, patting it down. She peeked at the front of him, making sure the front was okay too. Dean looked at her curiously and she caught his glance for a moment. She looked away quickly and stuck her hands in her pockets, "Oh. What has he been dealing with?"

Dean didn't hesitate, "No idea. Runs off without a word. Like a warped version of some rebellious kid. I hunt on my own now anyway. I uh…" Dean turned to face her from packing up his weapons, a small thin knife in his hand. He hadn't asked her why she'd come home like she had the night before but he could guess pretty accurately. And he knew it mostly had to do with Casyn.

The fight from the day before had been untouched territory so far and since Delaney was intent on acting like it had never happened, he let his guard down on her attacking him angrily.

Delaney waited for him to finish his sentence, raising her eyebrows.

"Uh… forget it," He'd wanted to tell her Bobby had confirmed what they'd been having doubts about. He knew Delaney so he'd rather let it go. Her mind was set.

"You sparked my curiosity now, Dean. It's rude leaving someone to wonder," she said then smiled, "Or I'll bite you."

Dean ignored this and stuck his knife in his boot. "I talked to Bobby. I asked him about Casyn."

He thought it was best to come out and say it. Delaney's smiled faded but her expression was intent. "And?"

"Well uh… he said she wasn't lying as far as he knew. He looked her up. I think she is related to you, Delaney. Nothing shady, nothing in the least scheming about her as far as I can tell. The facts point to her being your… cousin."

"I know." Delaney answered quietly.

Dean crinkled his eyes, "You do?"

"Yeah. I mean, I heard my dad once or twice talk about his brother. He only had one and my mother was an only child. Also, she kind of… well, I wouldn't be sure… but…"

"She looks like you. Enough to be your sister," Dean said.

"Thanks." She muttered darkly.

"I don't get why it's such a bad thing." Dean shrugged.

"Being related to me is enough reason for things to go after her. Having Mannings blood is enough to have her head on the chopping block already. And because of me," Delaney responded, sighing.

"No. Maybe because monsters know who you are, not because of your juice. I'd say that's a good thing. Your rep might be enough to scare the bastards away."

"My rep isn't as bad as yours or your dad's. They could still find me good enough game,"

"Well, then, make it a fact that they'll be after Casyn then. She sure knows how to give a good kick in the ribs but she doesn't know much. If you won't keep an eye on her 'cause you guys are something like the Parent Trap then do it because she could be an innocent victim,"

"Innocent my ass." Delaney muttered. "You wrap your rib up yourself?"

"Yeah. It hasn't been bothering me," Dean answered.

Delaney thought over what he had said and sighed softly. Since she'd woken up, she'd felt the ice had broken greatly. She had a lighter feeling on her chest that Dean had said something, even if it hadn't been much. She felt she was done.

The weight of sending Casyn away was the one thing still pushing her down. She hadn't needed any confirmation. She'd known Casyn was family. Or blood. She'd felt it ever since Casyn had said it.

She couldn't explain it but she was feeling a lot better about the whole situation. It seemed insane that a drunken night and some talking could fix anything, it still hadn't. But it made her feel like she wasn't that useless. And that keeping a bottle of Whiskey handy wasn't such a bad idea for when she wanted to get someone to spill the beans.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, I gotta go, Dean. Talk to you later," Delaney walked past him, picking up her duffel and throwing over her shoulder. He hadn't even realized she'd packed it. Or if she had even unpacked it.

"You don't want some gas first?"

"My car's all full, Dean. I went when you were practicing your Sleeping Beauty impersonation," She turned to him, tossing him the bottle of pain relievers.

"I mean breakfast." He caught it.

"No. I'll get something on the road. My boss is gonna be pissed at me enough already. Probably going to make me clean up the bar by myself," she groaned opening the front door.

"The bar?" Dean raised an eyebrow,

"Oh, don't act like your job is so decent." She snapped playfully. "I see you table dancing for those ladies."

"You've been getting free shows?" Dean laughed, then pointed out, "You've been watching me, you dirty chick."

Delaney cursed quietly, "With you, everything backfires on me."

"Natural born talent."

"Yeah well… I'll see you, Dean." She toned the wide smile into a grin. It was a big improvement from the irritated moody scowl from a few days earlier.

"Yeah."

…

Delaney stopped at a supermarket before she really started the drive back to Nebraska. She had a few things she wanted to buy for the ride.

The night before hadn't been forgotten. It was still running through her head at the most random moments but she'd take it over Dean's depressed face.

She'd been thinking about seeing Sam. She knew that Dean wasn't going to do anything anymore if he had in the first place and she knew getting Sam out of College didn't have a big percentage of success. She didn't want to anyway. He could stay wherever he wanted, only if he didn't close off his family.

Delaney didn't want to think of it then, though. She was happy she was in a happy mood, if that even made sense, and she wasn't going to let it spoil her mood.

She grabbed a grocery basket at the front of the store, the air conditioning feeling nice after the humid heat. She went straight for the snack area, dropping a bag of Doritos in the basket and a smaller bag of Cheetos.

Delaney was also in the mood for some real food so she went to the Deli area, looking at the food prepared in the displayed freezers. She got a tuna sandwich and a salad for when it was time for lunch and bought a taco at the little breakfast area in one large corner of the big place. Sometimes, she did love New Mexico.

She ate it as she dunked various other things in her basket, smoothly hiding the taco every time a store helper passed by her. She was sure you were supposed to eat the food where she'd bought it because there had been a sign and there had been various tables and chairs. She didn't feel like sitting anyway.

When she approached the beauty products, she dumped in another deodorant and a bottle of her favorite shampoo. She had been running low on her hygiene products so she looked through a shelf of lotions, chewing on her taco and opening them sneakily to sniff at them. Most of them smelled good but she picked a cucumber lemon one and placed it in the same basket.

Just as she was looking through the body soaps, she felt a shiver run up her spine. She felt eyes on her. She narrowed her eyes, acting like she was reading the label on the shaving cream can in her hand. She wasn't sure if someone was watching her but the creepy feeling wouldn't go away. The only talking she could hear was two aisles away and no one else was in hers.

Delaney placed the shaving cream back in its place and sent a smooth look in either direction. No one. She dismissed the feeling but still felt for the small knife at her waistband, under her shirt. She hadn't carried her gun since it'd be too visible under her shirt and shorts.

She took another bite of the bean taco and nodded her head slightly to the blues music on the speakers overhead. She'd always had a thing for blues.

The hand that grabbed her arm made her release a squeak and drop the taco in her hand. She immediately felt for her knife, stepping back into the shelves of hair products. The basket cut into her left forearm and she struggled to get the knife out.

"Relax. It's just me."

Casyn grabbed each of her bare arms with her hands and pressed her gently into the large long rack of products.

Delaney ran her eyes over Casyn jerkily then released a breath she hadn't realized she'd held in. She looked over Casyn, the panic slowly leaving her eyes to be replaced by anger.

"What the HELL is wrong with you, sneaking up on people like that?" Delaney shoved her back, adjusting the basket on her arm. "You scared the shit out of me, you bitch!"

Casyn stepped back, folding her arms across her chest giving her a lazy look. "You done?"

"Hell no." Delaney brushed her hair back angrily. "I was going to pull a knife on you and I wouldn't have felt bad for it afterwards, either! I would've thought you'd know by now I hated surprises!"

"I know. I just wanted to see you freak out. Why _did_ you freak out so bad? You do realize you're in a supermarket and no demon or monster dare attack now, right?" Casyn gave her an amused look.

"I uh…" Delaney mulled over her words, switching the basket to her other arms. She knew it had been irrational but she'd thought of a shape-shifter, first thing. She hardened her eyes when Casyn released a snicker. "What? I'm human. I sleep, I eat, and I get scared. Speaking of eating, you made me drop my taco." Delaney gave the taco a longing look. It had been so good.

She kicked it under the shelf before anyone could see it and turned to Casyn, now serious. "Don't you get tired of following me?"

"Yes, I do, actually. Thanks for asking," Casyn responded icily. But she fidgeted uncomfortably before speaking again, "The truth is… I need a ride."

"Don't you have a car? Wait, that is, if you're old enough to drive." Delaney responded, looking over the products crankily.

"I'm nineteen for your information." Casyn responded, snappily. Her voice relaxed as she walked in sync with Delaney. "I have a car too but I left it at Bobby's and I have no money to get back there."

"Not my problem," Delaney shrugged biting down on her lip. "I offered you some yesterday and you didn't take it."

"I don't want your dirty money."

"As far as I know, all money is dirty, miss high and mighty." Delaney turned to her, giving her a once over. "Looks like you'd be lucky taking any money you can get."

"Can you grow up and stop insulting me for one moment?" Casyn snapped, stepping in front of her. Delaney placed the basket on an empty region of the shelf and glared at Casyn.

"Step out of my way, Casyn."

"No. Not until you agree to give me a ride to Bobby's."

"And why would I do that, genius? Because you'll throw a tantrum over it?"

"Because-"

"And if you come to me with that "blood" crap I'll shove this deodorant down your throat," Delaney warned, placing a hand on the basket.

Casyn glared at her darkly, "You really don't know how to not interrupt someone, do you?"

Delaney gave a wide smile, "Nope."

"Oh, and excuse me if your threats don't scare me anymore after your heart attack earlier. Just something about sissies doesn't serve to make me shit my pants." Casyn muttered, coldly.

"Aww, don't think yourself the big man, sweetie. You haven't seen all my tactics yet," Delaney said amusedly.

Casyn gave a restrained sigh, "Just hear me out. All I want is a ride and I'll leave you to your bitterness after, okay?"

"Insulting the driver isn't chalking you points, cupcake." Delaney picked up her basket again and walked down the rest of the aisle turning into the other one.

"You owe me a drive."

"I thought we agreed I didn't owe you anything." Delaney mumbled, acting distracted by the display of Candy. She'd turned onto the right aisle. She wasn't going to let Casyn ruin her mood either and there was no way she was going to give the brat a drive to Bobby's.

"That was before you threw a knife at me and cut my hand open," Casyn said from right behind her.

"I remember you elbowing me in the face and bruising Dean's ribs. I think that one canceled out. Let's see how fast you can think of the next one," Delaney threw back.

"Well, afterwards you left me to get wet in the rain."

"Hey, you weren't the only one who got soaked yesterday and, again, I offered you money. You didn't want to leave so I left."

"You uh…"

Delaney smiled when Casyn struggled for the next excuse.

"You were a bitch to me," she said angrily when she saw Delaney's smile. Delaney turned to her, amusement on her face.

"You're complaining because I was mean to you? This ain't court, honey. Verbal abuse doesn't get bought with me. And you deserved it anyway."

"For what?For wanting to get to know you?"Casyn's face was flushed.

"Boy, you must be real needy if the person you want to be BFF's with is me." Delaney turned away, dropping a bag of M&M's in her basket.

"You're going to drive me to Bobby's." The tight anger in her voice made Delaney turn to her slowly, putting the basket down at her feet.

Delaney stared her square in the face and took a step closer to her. "Or what?"

"I beat your ass once, Delaney. I'm more than confident I can do it again. And then, I could just steal your car."

"If you touch my car that's the last thing you'll do, Sweetie," Delaney hissed through her teeth, feeling Casyn's breath against her face.

Delaney didn't break her stare and she felt Casyn breaking. Casyn stepped back slowly, loosening her stance.

Delaney didn't say a word but jerkily picked up her basket and stalked past her, muttering. "Hotwire a car, genius."

"I, unlike you, actually have some morals against stealing someone's car." Casyn said, walking after her.

"Right because carrying a knife on you isn't against the law," Delaney shook her head, smiling.

"You shouldn't be one to preach about laws," Casyn didn't wait long to follow Delaney again. Delaney tried to hold in the curses she felt like throwing at Casyn once she heard her footsteps behind her again.

"Yeah, well, I don't have this delusion that I'm about the most purest girl out there. I know what I do and I don't have anything against it, like you."

"Just…" Casyn grabbed Delaney's arm turning her around. Delaney gave her a warning look and Casyn let go, sighing. "Just the ride to Bobby's. No more. You won't see me ever again if that's what you want. Just help a…" Casyn paused before she could say a sister out. "A human out. You can't be that bad."

"I wasn't going to Bobby's I was going to Nebraska." Delaney answered, her tone growing calmer.

Casyn thought over a solution for a moment then sighed again. "I'll go where you're going just to get out of here. I'll get some money wherever you're going and I'll leave."

"Why can't you just get money here?"

Casyn shifted uncomfortably, "This is my first time in New Mexico. I barely found your room."

Delaney looked at her suspiciously and Casyn gave her a soft pleading look. Delaney knew what she was trying to do because she'd done it many times before. As much as she wanted to punch the chick, the stare she was giving her reminded her of all the mean things she'd told her the day before and not two minutes ago. She may be a bitch sometimes but she had a conscious and guilt wasn't an unknown emotion.

Delaney released a frustrated breath and gave Casyn an annoyed glare, "Fine. I'll drop you off at Bobby's."

The joy that flashed across Casyn's face made Delaney step back and place a hand on her knife. Casyn noticed this and smiled, "I'm not gonna hug you."

"Good. Because then I'd really gut you." Delaney said darkly and walked towards the pay area.

"You're all talk,"Casyn piped from behind her, all the mean stuff said between them forgotten for the moment. To Delaney it looked like she was skipping.

"Can you stop that?" Delaney hissed, loading her with the basket.

Casyn looked at it confused then shrugged, following after her. "You'll get used to me. I'll grow on you."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't move around like that, will ya? You'll spill the salad."

Delaney had a heavy dread fill her when they got in line to pay and Casyn starting loading up packets of Sour Patch Kids in the overflowing basket. She knew Delaney couldn't send her any death threats in front of other people so she just smiled a fakely bright smile that could have fooled Delaney, and placed some more in the basket.

And hell began.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Okay, you guys... I have a big favor to ask. I know I've taken a while to update but I've been super and I mean SUPER busy with homework and right now I got the first free hour in DAYS!<strong>_

_**I have a friend. A very talented friend. And no, I'm not lying to you and telling you this is a friend when it's actually me. No, she's an actual friend and I love her. She's amazing and talented and she deserves WAAYYYY more views. Because well, she's talented. :)**_

_**So please check out this video of her singing Adele's Rolling in the deep (I know a lot of people have been singing it but Rose makes it justice. I promise.). Here's the link:**_

**_.com/watch?v=PJVnGpzeIUk_**

_**Or go to her friend's channel: Saaysa1996 and click Rose singing "Rolling in the deep."**_

_**And please, don't put any mean comments. You guys are awesome and you deserve to be known as awesome. So, don't comment if you don't wanna. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.**_

**_Just spread the word. :)_**

**_Tell your friends!_**

**_And if I see that you guys were viewing the video, I'll think of something awesome to do for you guys. Maybe reward you in my own way. ;)_**

**_Thanks for reading!_**

**_You'll even be excused from reviewing if you check out the video. :P_**

**_~Mar98_**


	17. It's a Small World: On the way to Bobby

Chapter Seventeen: It's a Small World

On the Road to Bobby's.

August 26, 2003

"Can you quit that? This is my car and I don't appreciate you treating it like a dump," Delaney grumbled, watching as Casyn dropped another empty bag of Sour Patch Kids on the car floor by her feet.

"I'll pick them up later, don't get your panties in a knot," Casyn said, opening the next bag.

She was going through them like wildfire and the rip of each bag being opened was starting to get Delaney's temper on edge. She gripped the steering wheel tight, her knuckles turning white.

"Whoa, relax there, grumpy. Wouldn't want you to pop a blood vessel," Casyn smiled, holding her hand out, with the candy bag in it.

"Shut up," Delaney mumbled and pushed her hand away, turning the music up.

"Suit yourself." She popped another one in her mouth.

The ride had been stressing. Mostly for Delaney. Casyn could get adapt like no other person Delaney had ever met. She was acting like she'd driven around with Delaney for years and it was pissing Delaney off.

Delaney was regretting every saying yes to the brat. She'd made Delaney drive back to her motel to get her stuff and she'd dunked it in the backseat, dropping Delaney's pack rudely onto the floor of the car. Delaney had only been driving for three hours but Casyn was already making her feel like it had been days.

First, she wouldn't shut up. She'd talk non-stop about stuff Delaney didn't have the least interest in. After the first few seconds of when she'd started, Delaney had recognized she was going to ramble so she'd tuned her out.

It'd been easy at first, Casyn didn't seem to care Delaney wasn't listening and when she'd gone quiet Delaney had suspected something was up. She'd looked over to find her eating away at the big brown bag of groceries.

Second, she ate like there was no 'd started with the Doritos first. She'd eaten some of them then had opened the M&M's. By the time she'd started throwing the wrappers; Delaney was trying to loosen her tight breathing, worried she wouldn't get enough intake of air.

"What the hell are you listening to?" Casyn looked up from her bag of candy, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling her feet onto the seat.

"Get your dirty feet off my seat," Delaney snapped, reaching out and smacking her on the leg. Casyn looked at her curiously then shrugged, pulling her feet down.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" She muttered, reaching out to change the station, from the blues station Delaney had it on.

"You did, actually!" Delaney smacked her hand for the second time.

"Will you stop that?" Casyn said through her teeth, reaching again for the knob on the radio.

"If you get your damn grimy hands off of my damn stuff!" Delaney slapped her arm, ignoring the loud smack sound her hand made when it connected to Casyn's smooth skin.

"Will you stop hitting me, man?" Casyn snapped, suddenly turning to her, her hair whipping out behind her.

"If you sit still for one friggin' minute! What, do you have worms in your pants?" Delaney looked at her angrily when she sat back, crossing her arms.

"What is that? Jazz?"Casyn's face resembled a little girl's when she'd been scolded, the only thing she needed was the pouty lower lip but Delaney didn't think she had the guts. It took her awhile to realize she was talking about the music.

Delaney breathed in deeply, removing her hand from the wheel to push her hair back from her face. "It's Blues."

Casyn made a face then reached over the seat for her bag. She was an inch or two shorter than Delaney so it didn't make reaching for her bag easier. It had fallen off the seat a few minutes ago, to the car floor, and as Casyn struggled to get her hands on it Delaney watched her amusedly.

Delaney was tempted to swerve unexpectedly but she thought better of it, realizing that if she did Casyn would bump into her. When Casyn did get her heavy pack she swung it over the seat, barely missing Delaney's head.

Delaney gave a low growl and Casyn turned to her, "Sorry." Her smiled confirmed Delaney's thoughts; she wasn't anywhere near feeling sorry.

"Why do you want that? You're just going to take up space." Delaney muttered, watching as Casyn settled the bag on her lap and began to dig through it.

"I'm looking for a CD." Casyn mumbled, her face disappearing inside the bag.

"A CD?" Delaney asked, her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "What do you want one… No. Hell no." Delaney shook her head.

"Found one." Casyn reappeared, a CD case in her hand. She opened it clumsily and removed the CD from it. She reached towards the stereo and Delaney, knowing she wouldn't be able to push her away while she was driving, swerved the car to the left furiously, causing Casyn to fall on her side, the CD clattering to the car floor.

A car on the other lane honked loudly, jerking out of Delaney's way, scared Delaney had lost control of the car. It looked like she had.

Delaney smoothly turned the wheel to the right again, aligning herself back in the right lane. She speeded up, making more distance in between her and the cars behind her.

"What the hell, you freak?" Casyn sat up, dropping her pack onto the floor of the car. She looked like she'd been about to reach over to shove Delaney angrily but she thought better of it when Delaney gave her a testing look. She just glared at Delaney angrily, pulling at her shorts.

"You touch that radio again, Casyn, and so help me God I'll tie your hands to your ankles like a goat," Delaney growled, still managing to maneuver the car without her eyes on the road.

"Why don't you control your anxiety, you control freak?"Casyn growled, fixing her tank top.

"That's it."

As soon as Delaney saw the next stop, she turned into it violently, causing Casyn to suddenly grab onto the dash in front of her. She looked over Delaney like she was crazy but realized she looked like she'd had enough of her.

Delaney screeched to a stop on the side of the road, turning the car off and opening the door even before the car had really stopped. She climbed out, Casyn watching her legs as they rounded the car to her side.

Delaney pulled the passenger side door open and grabbed Casyn's arm roughly.

"Hey! Delaney, relax!" Casyn said a little less pissed-off than how she'd been feeling before. Delaney pulled her out, her face not as angry looking either but because she was trying to not show Casyn how annoyed she really was.

Casyn felt the cool leather seat disappear from beneath her bare leg and rough dirt fill the place of the car floor.

It was hot, the sun overhead leaving a burning sensation across her skin. She looked around at where they'd stopped. It looked like the middle of nowhere but since it was still summer, people were driving out and in of New Mexico.

Casyn was used to the heat but what was around them looked like some type of dessert. A random shrub showed up on the sides of the road every once in a while.

Delaney still had her hand on her so Casyn pulled away from her, making her drop her hand. "Let go of me!"

"You're one ungrateful little brat!" Delaney snapped, stalking past her and reaching into the still open passenger's side. She grabbed Casyn's bag and threw it at her feet. She slammed the door closed and went around the back of the car, to her side.

"What are you doing?" Casyn asked simply, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm done. Find someone else that can take your shit," Delaney roughly pulled open her door.

"Are you nuts? It's a hundred degrees out here! You can't leave me!"

"Funny. I thought that was exactly what I was doing." Delaney climbed into the car but before she managed to close the door, Casyn sprang forward grabbing the door from the outside.

"Let go, Casyn." Delaney hissed darkly.

"I'll stop. All of it. I'll shut up, I'll listen to your music, I'll tell you how beautiful you are just don't leave me to melt out here." Casyn gave her a deadly serious look, the skin on her face already starting to glisten with sweat and start to turn red.

"Nope, sorry, honey. I'm tired of you." Delaney tried to close the door again.

"Don't do this, Delaney. Please." Casyn asked softly, giving her the eyes from earlier at the grocery store. She had a feeling it wasn't going to work so she spoke quickly, her words tumbling over the other. "Bobby told me you've been looking for your dad, my father had something like a dairy, a journal, whatever. He mentions your dad, before I was born. He wrote that my dad and yours had a fight about some man named Jonathan."

Delaney froze, looking up at her, eyes wide, "What are you talking about?"

Casyn, realizing Delaney wasn't going to try to close the door on her face anymore stopped pulling at it but kept her hand on the door. She shifted uncomfortably, "I haven't read much of his diary because it brought back memories I didn't want to think about but I went back to the oldest entry and it was him writing about your dad. I haven't read much but it might… it might be able to say something about… you know."

Delaney didn't know why even non-hunting men kept journals. It made her job easier sometimes but it gave her a lot of insight on that particular person, things she would've rather been without.

Delaney narrowed her eyes suspiciously and Casyn let out a deep breath, "I'm not lying. Here."

Casyn let go of the door and walked to her bag. She got on her knees, opening it and pulling out a small leather back diary. She held it up, pushing the bag away and waiting for Delaney to slowly get out of the car.

Delaney didn't know if she was just lying to get her out of the car and drive off with it. She didn't think Casyn could get past her now but she wasn't going to underestimate her. She'd realized that had been her problem way too many times.

"Why can't you walk over here?" Delaney called, the wind blowing grains of sand across her face. Casyn made a face at her then spit carefully; dirt had flown into her mouth.

"Don't tell me you're scared of little me?" Casyn responded, not saying it in a teasing way, trying to relax the situation.

Casyn had no idea what wasn't okay or what was okay to do around Delaney. She was growing annoyed at how easily angry she could get and her annoying rules. She wouldn't talk at all except to insult her and get after her for treating her precious car the wrong way. Casyn was beginning to think she wasn't worth it anymore.

At that point, she'd given up on Delaney. All she wanted to do was get to Bobby's and go off on her own. She wasn't going to take any more crap from Delaney and she could clearly see Delaney wasn't going to take anymore of her crap either.

Delaney stared at her for a moment than slid out of the car, slamming the door closed. She stuck the keys in her pocket, never losing eye contact with Casyn.

Casyn gave a smirk when Delaney kept her hand in her short pocket, her hand tightly clenched around the keys, "I'm not going to steal from you. Again, you have some serious trust issues."

"Not now, Casyn. I can easily drag you behind a bush, perform bloody murder, and let the crows pick out those blues," Delaney said.

As much as Casyn was making her want to pull out her hair, the girl wasn't as bad as other people she'd met. She didn't trust her or like her at all, but the girl wasn't that much different from her. She also had something she wanted.

Delaney's heart was already beating slightly faster than usual, her throat tight. Her fingers were twitching to close around that journal.

Delaney had known her father had a brother. Her father or mother had never said that he was still alive. She'd heard them talk about it every now and then but the way they'd talked about him, it was like he'd passed away. And that was what she had grown up thinking.

Delaney didn't know a lot of things and most of the time she thought she was better off knowing. But learning about her family, about her father's life before hunting, was something she couldn't put aside. She already felt the curiosity growing and she couldn't ignore it.

"You won't. Maybe give me a few good kicks or a punch on the jaw but no… you won't kill me. And I won't steal from you. I'll take a break on cheating people," She shrugged nonchalantly.

Delaney knew she was a handful and Casyn putting up with her had already impressed her a little. She guessed it was because she was dealing with her too.

"That journal… it's your dad's?" Delaney took a few steps closer to her. Casyn held it out, giving it a shake so she could take it. Delaney raised her eyebrows. "You're trusting me with it?"

Casyn sighed, grabbing Delaney's hand and dropping it in it. She looked up at her, losing the frustrated expression. "You have to… I guess you have to give trust to get it. And… I don't want us keepin' our eyeballs glued to each other instead of things that could be after us. It'd be easier if we weren't hitting and screaming at each other the whole time. If we're gonna get money and food we need to hustle together. I can see you're starting to run out of money. We're not going to get to South Dakota with the money you have,"

For once, what Casyn was muttering, made sense to Delaney. Delaney weighed the heavy medium-sized leather journal in her right palm and casually placed her other hand over it. She looked over the outside of it and looked up at Casyn, giving her a wary look. "I guess so."

Casyn nodded slowly, face serious. "I'm gonna calm my hyperactivity but only if you calm your control freak streak."

Delaney watched her silently for a moment, passing the journal to her other hand. She smiled carefully, giving an amused chuckle, "Yeah. I will."

"Well… uh… good. Now can we get back to driving." Casyn stepped past her, groaning soflty when she bent down to pick up her pack.

Delaney looked down at the Journal and found that her feelings from before had changed towards it. Casyn's father wasn't a hunter and neither was Casyn. What could've Casyn's father known about hers?

Delaney turned to Casyn, opening her mouth to say something but caught Casyn already looking at her with the mustard-colored leather pack over her shoulder. Delaney, momentarily surprised, thought better of it and closed her mouth.

Casyn raised an eyebrow.

Delaney shifted uncomfortably, letting the journal rest against her thigh. She gave Casyn the first real smile. It wasn't her best but she was trying.

Delaney wasn't sure why she had smiled at her, and for a moment, she was shocked by her reaction. She disliked the girl, or what she had gotten to know of her. She wanted her gone.

But the truth was, even if they had only been driving for a few hours and all that had been exchanged between them had been shouts and growls of frustration, it beat being alone. It beat the thinking and the silence.

Delaney knew she couldn't keep treating the girl how she was. Casyn hadn't done anything but annoy her. And everyone annoyed her at some time and she wasn't unknown for it either. Quite the opposite. She was known for being a pain in the ass. Delaney would say the good kind of pain in the ass, though.

It was time to start treating Casyn like a person. Delaney wasn't a mean person, usually only when she had to be.

Delaney felt like sighing. She couldn't help but think of her father when she saw the girl. Not that they looked alike but because it was her father's brother who that girl belonged to. And possibly her only family left.

It was time to make the most of it.

Delaney still didn't want her around, as a hunter. But it would be nice to get to know her. Maybe she would regret it, maybe she wouldn't. But from how she saw it, Casyn was already as closely involved with hunting, that all she needed now, was to hunt.

Casyn looked a little surprised, her lips parted and her eyes widening a fraction. She must've realized how much more awkward it made it so she just cleared her throat and gave a smaller smile.

Delaney's way of dealing with awkwardness was usually just to clearly avoid it had ever happened, steer away. But seeing a smile, not matter how small, had made her feel a little better. Even if it had been from Casyn.

"Well… back to driving. I can't read while I do it so… hold it for me."

…

It was quieter for the next few hours. Delaney, after a long battle with herself, had let Casyn put a CD in the stereo. She believed herself an adult, so she was going to act like it for as long as she could take it.

They'd exited New Mexico a few hours back and were still working on finding a place to stay soon, since it had already darkened.

Casyn had been playing with the chain of a necklace that Delaney hadn't noticed she'd had around her neck until a few minutes ago. It was long, dipping to the front of her tank top, the charm, if it had any, hidden in her shirt.

Delaney had had enough time to look at her more closely, now that she wasn't going to stay on alert for an attack or something.

Casyn was thin, athletic. She didn't have a lot of fat, like Delaney but she looked smaller. More like she ran instead of worked out. She was a few inches shorter than Delaney, not much but enough so that Delaney could notice.

Her hair was long, longer than Delaney's, reaching far into her back. No bangs or hair fell forward towards her face; it was straight, parted in the middle, away from her face. It looked like she didn't put much into it, healthy. Clean and shiny.

Her complexion was slightly tanner than Delaney's but still fair. On her skin, Delaney could see various tattoos. On the inside of her right arm, on her wrist was some dark writing. Delaney couldn't make out what it said but it looked like a different language. Beside the text, on either side, was a wing. A white feathery angel wing and on the other, a red scaly devil's wing. Delaney couldn't help but smile at that. From an earlier glimpse, when Casyn had bent down to pick up something from the car floor, she had been pretty sure the one in between her shoulder blades, at the base of her neck, said Love Life.

Delaney agreed with that one.

Casyn was pierced in several places too. She wore a metal stud in the cartilage of her right ear and both ears were pierced, a super small glittery stud on the right side of her nose. Delaney could've bet her bellybutton was too.

Delaney had never been one for tattoos, no matter how pretty you could make them seem. Her ears were the only body parts that were pierced.

Casyn didn't look bad, which surprised Delaney. The piercings didn't look as bad as Delaney thought they usually did on other people and the tattoos didn't either. You could barely see the one on her back and the one on her wrist wasn't that big. Delaney actually kind of thought they fit her.

"What does that mean?" Delaney asked quietly, keeping her eyes on the dark road. The air conditioning felt good on her face and arms. Casyn had complained about being cold earlier so she'd turned it down a little.

"What?" Casyn looked up from her chain but continued to twirl it.

"The Tattoo on your wrist." Delaney turned to her as she looked down. Casyn smiled widely, dropping the chain against her chest and bringing it up to show it to Delaney.

Delaney squinted, clearly making out; AlisVolatPropriis. She looked up at Casyn blankly.

Casyn sighed, "So much for Hunters being universal. It means, 'flies with her own wings'" Casyn dropped her hand onto her lap, looking down at the inside of her wrist thoughtfully.

"Really?" Delaney smiled, turning back to the road and then back to Casyn. Casyn nodded, looking up at her. Delaney shrugged, "Too bad you don't have any."

Casyn rolled her eyes then sat forward, pulling her hair aside. She turned her back to Delaney and let her see the smooth skin under all of the hair. The tattoo did say Love Life but in a normal black print. Delaney thought it was kind of boring but the message held all the fun. Next to the tattoo, was a small scar but from the shape of it, it had been deep and from a knife. It curved towards her right shoulder, almost aligned to the curve of neck becoming shoulder.

"Nice." Delaney nodded, smiling amusedly. Casyn would have never striked her as a tattooed pierced bad girl.

Casyn shrugged turning back to face her. She brought her legs up onto the seat and crossed them slowly. Delaney turned to her and Casyn raised her eyebrows proudly, showing her she'd taken off her shoes. "I got them after my dad died. Figured it was time for a change. I was tired of hiding, trying to get a job and live normal. Go to school. Figured I'd just go from place to place, seeing. Get a job at any bar or diner."

"You should have studied but granted, I guess Mannings don't have it in them for school." Delaney reached over to the radio and turned it up, taking out Casyn's CD. She placed it on the seat and Casyn took it, sticking her finger in the hole.

"I guess so. I was way too hyperactive anyway. They kept on telling my dad to get me some pills for it but we weren't rich. I don't think we even classified as poor. Most of my dinners consisted of some cheap macaroni dishes he bought from the Seven Eleven. We moved around too much for food stamps." Casyn didn't look down as she said this and the shame her eyes lacked convinced Delaney that Casyn was more than caught the eye. "He tried to get jobs. Sometimes he didn't even last a day. I don't know how in the hell we got money to move anyway but it's not like we had much stuff. I guess I learned to pack light."

"Hyperactive, huh? I never would've guessed."

"Yeah, yeah. How about you? That guy back there your boyfriend?"

Delaney couldn't help but think back to the kiss Dean had forced on her the night before. It had hurt that he'd just been trying to use her as a distraction. She wasn't going to be a distraction. "Dean? No. I grew up with him and his brother Sam."

Casyn opened her mouth to say something but when she didn't, Delaney turned to her confused. "What?"

Casyn's eyes were wide and her mouth was opening and shutting indecisively.

"Are you okay? Are you twitching or what?"

"S-Sam?Sam and Dean Winchester?"Casyn finally choked out.

Delaney straightened up in her seat and sent her a freaked-out worried look, "Yeah. Why?"

"Oh My God!"Casyn turned away from her, dropping her feet onto the car floor. She ran a hand through her hair quickly, putting the other hand over her mouth.

Delaney watched her silently, horrified for a moment, thinking she was crying. "Casyn? Hey! You okay?"

Delaney jumped in her seat and sprung back when Casyn gave a happy shriek, stomping her feet uncontrollably on the car floor.

Casyn was one weird girl.

"Oh My God! I can't believe I didn't recognize him! He looked so much more different when he was a teenager! I do too, I guess, with all the tattoos and piercings and the boobs!" Casyn was rambling loudly to herself, her face beyond happy. "I have to see him! I wonder if he remembers me?"

She suddenly turned to Delaney and tilted her head, confused when she saw Delaney's flabbergasted expression.

"What's wrong with you?" Casyn asked quietly, dropping her hands onto her lap.

Delaney opened her mouth to answer, then sighed turning back to the road, grumpily. The one that had just freaked out over Sam and Dean's names was asking what was wrong with her.

"What?" Casyn persisted.

"Nothing." Delaney answered. "I was just wondering why you just went all happy on me. What, did you like Dean?"

"What? No. Of course not."Casyn shook her head, the smile still plastered on her face. "I got excited because when I was thirteen, Bobby saved me and took me to his house. I stayed there for maybe… I don't remember but I met two guys. And until right now did I remember that was Sam and Dean!"

Delaney was never sure with that girl. She began to think she was a pretty badass chick when she ruined it all by throwing a giggling session that would make a five-year-old girl proud.

"Well…" Delaney turned back to the road, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Isn't it a forgetful small world out there?"

It seemed, everyone had met Casyn except her.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Dear beautiful readers! I have some very bad and some very good news!<em>**

**_Last week, I threw a panic session worthy of a schizophrenic. I lost my USB drive, with all the upcoming chapters of The Things I'd do. It was a sad dreary week. But then... I remembered! My laptop should have most of the chapters saved. And it did._**

**_Except for a chapter and a half that I added to the story in my USB drive, everything is safe and sound and ready to publish. But since I go over chapters right before I update and change things in the DocManager, it still might take some time._**

**_I'm praying to find my USB because it should be at school and I have the itching suspicion someone is carrying it around, but until they give it back, I shall rewrite the chapter I lost. And DAMN IT, IT HAD BEEN A GOOD ONE!_**

**_But that chapter is way off, off into the distance so for now, until I reach that chapter, I will continue updating._**

**_Delaney is such a fickle bitch. She can't make up her mind! And I don't think she will be able to until later._**

**_Well anyway, thank you for reviewing and checking out my friend's video. I know someone reviewed and commented but I really don't have the time to check who it was, sorry. But you know who you are and I love you. ;)_**

**_Leave momma lots of reviews!_**

**_Muah,_**

**_Mar98 _**


	18. Growing up: Past Colorado state lines

Chapter Eighteen: Growing up

An hour and a half past Colorado State lines.

August 27, 2003

"I could've sworn it was around here," Casyn was on her knees, the leather seat squeaking every time she moved. She was looking around into the nothingness of dirt and plants and the endless road, Delaney driving with one hand on the wheel and her other elbow against it, her hand cupping her chin boringly.

Delaney had just wanted to keep going since the long nap they'd taken after not being able to find a motel the night before. Casyn had offered to drive, switch shifts, but Delaney didn't trust her that much yet.

They'd passed Colorado state lines an hour or two ago, and as soon as they had, Casyn had cried out excitedly. Delaney wasn't used to how randomly and unexpectedly she did that, most of the time for no reason at all, but this time she'd asked her why outright.

According to Casyn, there was a great Mexican restaurant a few hours from the Stateline, outside of a super small town that Casyn and her dad had discovered when they'd been moving around. Casyn had been watching out for it, eagerly kneeling and pressing her face to the window.

"Are you sure it wasn't in Arizona or something?" Delaney muttered, feeling like the road stretched endlessly. Delaney loved road trips, long car rides with the boys but Casyn was the type of girl that could make you get tired of your favorite things.

"No. I'm sure it was here in Colorado. My dad had gotten a job as a- There! I found it!" Casyn squealed, pointing to Delaney's side of the road. She slid over the seat, pressing up against Delaney and looking out her window.

"Hey! Personal space!" Delaney elbowed her in the ribs and turned her head, slapping away Casyn's hair when she felt it tickle her mouth. She looked out of her own window, the bright colors of a place emerging from the bland colors of the dirt and close to nothing vegetation.

It looked nice, a long dirt road leading into it. It had cacti planted outside of it, on each side of the big entrance. The outside of it was mainly a dark purple and a fiery pop-out red. It looked kind of funny in the middle of nowhere.

"Wow. It still looks the same. And no other people. We'll get served first." Casyn muttered, still lingering over Delaney.

"Will you sit down and get your boobs out of my face?" Delaney snapped, trying to push her back without actually shoving her hard.

Casyn gave her a dirty look and sat back down, still unusually close to Delaney.

Delaney looked over at the place, the area which she guessed was supposed to be for parking since it had been cleared of rocks and plants, was empty. "It looks pretty vacant. The people who run it don't even seem to be there."

"They don't live anywhere else, silly. They live in the restaurant too. They have extra rooms in the back and a higher floor for the family. I think I'd love to live in a place where they feed you like that," Casyn's tone of voice made Delaney turn to her. She was thinking dreamily and Delaney could've sworn she licked her lips.

"What about a car? Don't they need one to get around and buy the ingredients and stuff?" Delaney took a careful left turn onto the dirt road that led to the place and tried to see through the dirt that flew up.

"Yeah but one of the guys could be out. Victoria doesn't usually close the place unless for an emergency and for a place in the middle of nowhere, it has a lot of rep."

"You know the people that run the place?" Delaney asked surprised.

"Yeah."Casyn piped. "I've known them for a long time, I told you. They've even let me stay in one of the backrooms more than one time when I needed a place to stay. I get free food."

"Oh."

Delaney parked in front of the place, stepping out of the car and putting her hair up when the wind blew it into her face. She turned to tell Casyn she could get out but frowned when she was already pulling out her duffel and swinging it over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"I decided…" Casyn closed the car door and walked the distance towards Delaney. "That we're staying here today and tonight."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Delaney faced her, squinting her eyes in the bright sunlight. Casyn looked at her innocently, her blue gray eyes sparkling in the sun.

"They have showers here and I don't want to sleep in the car tonight. It's already five in the afternoon and there's no way we can find a motel that quick. And anyway, you're not good at negotiating your time," Casyn stepped past her and approached the restaurant. The lights were on inside and Delaney could see the door had been left slightly open.

"Casyn." Delaney called, annoyed. She didn't turn and Delaney set after her. "I'm not staying here."

"Yes you are."

"What happened to the getting along?"

"We are getting along. Here."

"I'm wasting time at my job getting you to Bobby's. I'm supposed to be back in Nebraska because I'm pretty sure Bobby only told Ellen that I'd be back after the Banshee. I can't waste any more time besides the time I'm wasting dropping you off."

"Banshee? That sounds interesting."

"Do you only hear what you want to hear?"

"Usually, yeah."

"Casyn, I'm serious." Delaney grabbed her arm and spun her around. "We'll eat and we're leaving."

"We'll eat and we're staying. What happened to nice Delaney?" Casyn crossed her arms, smiling amusedly.

That put Delaney on edge. She gritted her teeth and let go of her. "Oh, she's here but even when she was prominent I still felt like punching you in the nose."

Casyn thought about it then shrugged, like she'd gotten that reaction before. "Even then, we're staying."

"Casyn, I have the car. I can leave you." Delaney threatened, her eyes narrowing into a frustrated glare. Just when they'd started to get along.

"Really?Without any keys?"

"Wh-" Delaney cut herself off when Casyn removed something from her shorts and dangled it in front of her. The car keys.

Delaney's face flushed red under seconds and her hands fisted on either side of her. She gritted her teeth, trying to remain in control of herself, really feeling like popping a tooth out of that confident grin Casyn had plastered on her face.

"Now, now. You relax yourself. I'm not going to steal your sweet ride although…. Me taking the keys that smoothly when you pulled me back a few seconds ago doesn't actually make you believe me and pretty much dissipates the little trust you had growing for me last night, but I just knew you would react this way and want to run off leaving me here. So… I took the keys and tomorrow I'll give them back." Casyn stuck them in her pocket then thought better of it when she looked at the expression Delaney had on her face. She stuck them down her shirt and gave Delaney a wide smile.

"I'm a girl, you idiot. There's nothing you have that I don't, so I'm not scared of sticking my hand down your shirt." Delaney growled, taking a step forward.

Casyn watched her warily and took a step back, "I'm not scared of hurting you either."

"You're one selfish brat, Casyn!" Delaney snapped and stopped stepping forward.

Casyn's eyes narrowed, "Right because you not wanting to help me yesterday was so giving of you!"

"I have people I need to help and you want to stay here for some Mexican food!" Delaney spat angrily. "It's just Ellen and her daughter at the bar and my extra pair of hands can't be gone for too long without them beginning to struggle!" Delaney wasn't sure she was that essential but Ellen had mentioned a couple of times that her being around helped a lot and made things easier.

"Whatever! You just want me out of your ass!"Casyn said loudly, taking another step back.

"You know that's not what I mean, Casyn! I just want my damn keys back and to get home!" Delaney followed after her, reaching for her arm. Casyn dodged her hand easily, stepping aside.

Delaney growled and tried again. This time, when Casyn dodged her, Delaney reached out with her other hand as well and pushed her back, feeling at the front of her shirt. Casyn dug and elbow in Delaney's ribs, shouting, "Hey! Don't touch me that way!"

Delaney could've sworn she heard a smile when Casyn said that, which made her angrier. They struggled for a while, Delaney trying to feel for her keys and Casyn managing to slap Delaney's hands roughly every time. Finally, Delaney decided something better. She stopped pulling at her shirt and stepped back, wiping at the sweat on her forehead.

"I can still hotwire the car." Delaney muttered, approaching the Chevelle.

"You wouldn't!" Casyn rubbed at her right elbow and slowly followed after her, peeking over her shoulder at Delaney's hands.

Delaney spun around and grabbed her arms tightly, she pulled her so she was in front of her and pressed her up against the car. She bent her back so her elbow was pressed against her neck and Casyn was bending over the car.

For once, Casyn actually looked genuinely scared, her breathing hard and her eyes wide.

"I'm not going to hotwire my car. I'd rather put you through hell first. Give me my keys back, Casyn, or I will follow through with my threats."

Casyn hesitated, staring up into Delaney's angry eyes and finally, shook her head as much as she could, "No. You're not getting your keys back until tomorrow."

"I can hold you like this until tomorrow."

"You'll get tired,"

"Not as much as you will."

"How about a little trust, cuz? I haven't stolen anything from you yet besides these keys which honestly, I don't even want. I have my own ride at Bobby's and this is my way of guaranteeing you'll get me back there."

"You have any idea how stupid that sounds? You take away my keys to guarantee I'll get you there which I can't do because you have the friggin KEYS! Brilliant plan, genius!"

"I thought it was a good plan."

"I was going to get you back there anyway but you took the keys because you didn't want to sleep in the car again!

"And so what? You're not getting them back until tomorrow so suck it up!"

Delaney pressed her back with one arm and used the other one to feel raise up her shirt halfway as Caysn wriggled, giggling. "That tickles!"

"Shut up, Casyn, and tell me where you put the keys!" Delaney growled lowering her shirt and pressing her arm up against her tighter.

Casyn didn't let it show it was uncomfortable even though Delaney could tell it was, "In my bra, Princess but you're not gonna get there until after our second date."

Casyn, with her right foot, aimed for Delaney's shin and gave a kick that made Delaney's eyes water. While she was distracted, Casyn pushed her away and slipped past her, already running towards the front door of the place.

Delaney chased after her, although it was more like limping, and just as she was about to pull the door open, Delaney crashed into her, making Casyn stumble and fall forward.

Delaney tried to pin her down but Casyn was struggling so hard, arms and legs flying all over the place, that Delaney was sure a few bruises were bound to form. And just because Casyn knew there were people in the place she began to scream at the top of her lungs.

Delaney, infuriated that she was playing dirty, clamped a hand extra hard over her mouth and squealed, pulling it back when Casyn bit it.

"You little-"

A loud click sounded right by Delaney's ear, a click she could recognize anywhere, and she froze, letting her hands drop slowly.

"Let her go or I'll shoot." A male voice boomed a few inches behind her and another bigger amount of inches above her.

Delaney cursed under her breath, looking down at Casyn. She was smiling smugly, already moving from under her. Delaney tried to move a little more to the left, to give Casyn more space to move away from her from but even before she'd completed it, a hand grabbed her from the back.

"Get your hands off me!" Delaney struggled against the hand holding her back. Casyn hadn't said anything and this time, Delaney swore she'd get the bitch back for not saying she was just her cousin. She hadn't really intended on hurting her, at least not that much. Delaney could bet Casyn was enjoying her position way too much.

Casyn got to her feet smoothly and walked out of Delaney's eyesight, "It's okay, Cruz. She's just a very…over affectionate friend."

Delaney snorted angrily at the statement.

"I have a good mind to shoot her ass out of here for treating you that way."

Delaney, not being able to contain her anger, spun around, slapping the barrel of the gun down then clamping her hand down on it, pulling it forward and away from the man. She caught a quick flash of him before she flipped it around smoothly and moved a little back, pointing it at the male figure.

"I don't like guns being pointed at me,"

"Yeah… I learned the hard way." Casyn smiled awkwardly, holding up the palm Delaney had cut, towards the guy. She stared at Delaney, eyes wide, than gave a nervous giggle. "You won't shoot me."

"I'm tired of this "wabbit season duck season" charade. How about we see if I will aim one for your leg, cuz?" Delaney growled, flipping back her hair and standing up.

The man was in his late twenties, tall, and muscular. That didn't necessarily discourage Delaney since she'd been able to take away the gun like nothing. And like any other time she was dealing with a big man, the gun in her hand made her feel like the boss.

Delaney adjusted the shot gun, cocking it. She really wasn't going to shoot Casyn although she was probably going to tie her up once they were back in the car but the way the man was staring at her, was keeping her on edge.

He was tan, Hispanic. He was lighter than most, but the color he gave off gave Delaney the notion he worked out in the sun. His eyes were dark brown, a little lighter than her own but not too far. His hair was cut short, in a buzz cut. Delaney would've admitted he was good looking any other day but she was too pissed to even acknowledge it.

Cruz, what Casyn had seemed to call him, tried to step forward but Delaney reached forward quickly, aiming the gun right at his chest.

"Okay, okay! It's enough, Delaney!" Casyn slid from behind Cruz and in between the gun and the guy. She held her arms limply at her side and gave Delaney an irritated careful glance. "This is just Cruz. He's a good guy. I've known him since I was sixteen. His mom owns the place. And Cruz…" Casyn turned to face him in the little space she could. "This is Delaney. She's uh…. Let's just call it blood okay."

Cruz sent an amused look in Delaney's direction, "Really? Seemed like what she was looking for were ways to draw blood from you."

"Take a drive with her for more than I day and then you'll understand why, bud." Delaney retorted smoothly, her hand relaxing its grip on the gun.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, I'm annoying. Can we stop trying to hurt one another? I'm all for world peace!" Casyn pumped a fist into the air but bit her lip nervously when neither responded.

When a few moments had passed, Delaney sighed stepping back and dropping the gun by her side. She fanned her face for a moment then tossed the gun back at Cruz. He caught it but kept it at his side.

"She's very paranoid. She's a hunter." Casyn rolled her eyes, clearly more relaxed now that the pair weren't going to hurt one another.

Delaney sent a perplexed look at Casyn and when she noticed she gave a wide smile, "Cruz and his family know all about the Supernatural. Why do you think I even know them?" Casyn placed a hand on Cruz's back.

Cruz hadn't seemed to warm towards Delaney yet and she knew it was because it had been so easy to take away his gun. "She's a hunter?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. She's not like those two guys from a few years back. She actually knows how to hunt the right things. Where's Victoria? I'm starving." Casyn clapped Cruz twice on the back then pulled open the big entryway door.

Cruz was still looking at Delaney carefully once Casyn had entered the place and Delaney, growing annoyed by that fact, gave him a fakely wide smile and stepped in after Casyn.

The place was very nice. Paintings of Mexican landscapes hung on the brightly painted walls, the tables had simple white covers lined with a bright hot pink or a stand-out yellow. Each table had its small brown pot of flowers and a bowl of what seemed like salsa.

The smell of food was coming from farther in the place and Delaney's stomach grumbled at the waft of it. Casyn was standing farther to the right, on a space of wooden floor that was clear of tables. It looked like a dance floor so Delaney rolled her eyes. Casyn would be excited about that.

There was a bar area situated past all of the tables in front of Delaney and right beside it, a door to what she could only guess was the kitchen.

"Hey!" Casyn jogged over to them. "Where's Victoria?"

"In the kitchen."

"Ah-ha! Now I have an excuse to go back there!" Casyn took off, across the big place.

"Like she ever needs one," Delaney muttered and when she felt Cruz close behind her she took a big step forward and turned to face him. "Just putting it out there, if you want to keep an eye on me without me knowing, this isn't the way. I can literally feel you breathing down my neck."

"What did Casyn mean by your blood?" Cruz ignored her.

"She's my… uh…" Delaney knew she should've been more comfortable saying it by then but the time she's spent with Casyn hadn't helped. Delaney, finally realizing she didn't have to answer to the stranger, looked away. "I don't have to answer you."

"Right. You don't, hunter. But Casyn has been like family to us and we don't appreciate when someone tries to hurt our family. Just putting it out there." Cruz left Delaney behind, walking towards the kitchen.

Delaney, not knowing what to do, just stood where she was and looked around the place. She didn't want to follow Cruz because she didn't want to see Casyn.

"We don't appreciate," Delaney muttered annoyed. She let out a frustrated breath and neared the table closest to her. She pulled out the chair in front of her and slumped down into it, reaching for the salt shaker on it.

Stupid Casyn had everything going for her. A family, which she hadn't seen all of and she had the nagging suspicion the guy Cruz had brothers just as big as him, of Mexicans that would shoot her in the head if she even neared the brat. Casyn also had her keys so she couldn't just leave her there.

Delaney just wanted to get Casyn to where she wanted to go and head back to Ellen's to continue her life like nothing had ever happened. Not Dean and his breakdown, not her and her breakdown. Not Casyn and her surprise entrance. Like nothing had ever happened.

"Just to get damn home," Delaney muttered quietly, pulling at the petal of one of the flowers of the center piece.

"Delaney."

Delaney's hand instinctively went to her shorts, where her gun was, tensing up.

The voice had been behind her but before she could decide to turn around a lady circled her from the left side and pulled out a chair on the other side of the table.

She was older, in her fifties or so. She barely had any wrinkles on her face but enough for Delaney to tell she had been even more beautiful when she had been younger. She was wearing a plain apron stained with different colored substances that Delaney couldn't identify.

"Relax, muchacha. I'm not going to hurt you."

"How do you know my name?" Delaney demanded, guessing she was Victoria.

The lady brushed back the loose strands of hair that had escaped from her bun and sighed, "The very same reason why you know mine. A friend told me. She also told me you are a hunter."

The lady's voice went flat as she muttered the last part.

Delaney hesitated, taking that into count. "Uh… yeah. I am."

"Then you are not welcome here," The lady named Victoria stood up, using her hands on the table as balance and slid from behind the table.

Delaney stared after her, dumbfounded. But then she realized what that meant and shrugged. It'd be a great true excuse to get Casyn to give her keys back. She'd been formally kicked out so now she had to follow through.

"I would leave…" Delaney stood up, face expressionless. "But Casyn has my keys and otherwise, I have no way to leave. Tell her what you just told me and she'd be ecstatic to give them back."

"If you're really a hunter you'll find a way to take them back," Victoria tossed over her shoulder, her knee length skirt swiveling as she walked. "Your type always do."

Delaney ignored the comment and called, "Well, Casyn is really good at finding ways to cause people distress. I was about to get my keys back when your son put a gun to my head. I bet by now she's hidden them somewhere."

"You're right," Victoria turned around, placing a hand on her hip. "Casyn is very good at stealing and hiding but she usually doesn't do it unless she has to. What does she want from you?"

"Excuse me?"

"What do you owe her?"

Delaney thought the lady said it like she'd said it many times before.

"Oh… well, she says I owe her a ride to Bo- I mean, a friend. I told her that I'd drop her off but she said she wanted to stay here for the night and I told her no because we were on a tight schedule. So she took my keys."

"Uh-huh," Victoria bit the inside of her lip thoughtfully. "Well, those keys are as good as gone now until tomorrow. You're going to have to find a way to get out of here without your car."

"B-but, You can tell Casyn to give me my keys back." Delaney answered, reigning her frustration in as best as she could.

"I can't tell her to do anything. All I know is I don't want someone like you in here. Your type finds it easy to turn your gun on innocent people."

"I'm… sorry? I felt threatened. Your son had a gun to my head! What was I supposed to do? I wasn't going to hurt Casyn anyway!"

"It doesn't matter to me. Leave this place or we'll make you leave."

"I can't!" Delaney gave a humorless laugh, holding her hands up into the air, helplessly. "If you really know her as much as she says you do, you'd know she isn't necessarily the negotiating type! She doesn't listen to anyone else or do anything else that doesn't benefit who? Her!"

Victoria looked at her quietly, a thin eyebrow raised in question.

"What?" Delaney dropped her hands against her hips. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Casyn has told me you are related to her," Victoria said.

Delaney sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Yeah. What does that have to do with any of this?"

Victoria stepped closer to Delaney, until she was a foot or two in front of her. The piercing stare she gave Delaney freaked her out, making her swallow nervously. There was something freaky about Victoria that Delaney couldn't place. She had this… feeling surrounding her that was putting Delaney on edge.

"I believe it has everything to do with this, Delaney. I do know Casyn. In fact, I know her better than anyone and I am proud to be considered her friend and I am honored she visits my home. She is a great girl and one of the most selfless at that. And you…" Victoria inched closer to her and Delaney removed one hand from her hip and to the front of her shorts, at the waistband, to feel for her knife. Victoria noticed this and smirked. "And you… should really take the time to get to know that about her. I feel you, Delaney. You're a skeptic, stubborn, temperamental, sarcastic. And every time you look at Casyn and she tells you no, who do you think that reminds you of, muchacha? I would say of you."

Delaney's eyebrows crinkled in confusion and before she could retort angrily, Victoria held up a hand.

"I'm not done." Victoria said curtly. "You can take any of what I'm saying any possible way that makes you happy and giddy. But before you jump to the conclusion most of your kind do, I am no witch. I was born with the gift to sense people and in some sense you can say I'm a psychic. But even without my abilities, I can read a lot about you. Casyn is not a liar by choice. She only lies when she has to and she is not lying to you now. She values you more than you can see because you're too busy trying to guess at what exact moment she's going to stick a knife in the side of your neck."

"Casyn has been alone most of her life and when she realized you were alive, she was happy for the first time in years. I won't let you ruin this for Casyn. You can refuse her but you cannot speak about her like you do in front of me and you cannot make her suffer like you are while I am her friend."

"I don't need your stereotypes directed at me, lady. I don't know whatever the hell other hunters did to you but I won't let you treat me like this either. Casyn may be my cousin but you don't understand jack squat. I tried to be polite and I tried to be respectful but as I see, that attempt isn't going to be returned here so I'll be going as quick as I can, as quick as I can get Casyn to give me my keys back." Delaney tried to step past her but Victoria stepped smoothly in her way.

Delaney fisted her hands on either side of her and bit down on her lower lip. She tried again but Victoria just got in the way again, "Lady, I don't know you so please don't continue messing with me the way you are."

"Why?" Victoria shrugged, a smirk aligning the lower area of her face. "I find that you're the one stepping in my way."

Delaney tried to contain the growl that threatened to escape her lips. "Just uh…. Forget it. I'll hotwire my damn car and tell Casyn thanks for nothing."

Delaney gave up stepping past her and turned around, storming out of the place. Dirt flew up from every time her feet landing against the dusty hard ground. The overly bright sun made her squint as she neared her car.

She opened the driver's side door and plopped down on her side of the seat. Her foot got caught in something so as she bent down to untangle it, she saw a figure through the corner of her right eye and jumped, pulling out her knife as smoothly as she'd had it in her hand the whole time.

"Whoa Whoa! Relax with the whole knife stuff! That's supposed to be my thing!" Casyn shrinked against the seat, pressing against the car door.

Delaney took a moment to regain her regular breathing pattern and didn't bother asking her how she'd gotten into the car, "Get out."

"Come on, Delaney. It wasn't that bad. You didn't get shot and neither did Cruz so we're fine. We can get back to liking eachoth-"

"I'm tired of it! You acting like you're the only one important here! I get you want to stay with them but I don't have time for it and if you really want me to give you a ride to Bobby's then you need to listen to me! First of all, the people in that place don't only not like me, they hate hunters! Victoria practically threatened me! Second of all, she's like some weird people-reader thing! I'm not staying in a place with someone like that even if they gave me the best damn room! I don't need my problems thrown at me every damn second of the day! And I don't need the problems you're fuckin' causing me, Casyn! You need to grow up and realize you're not the only one who this is hard for! You can't drag me in with these people, not only because I don't like them but because they hate what I am!" Delaney shouted, her face red. She was waving her hands angrily, ignoring when they bumped into something with a slap.

Casyn clenched her teeth together angrily, her arms crossed and her eyes full of venom. Delaney didn't take time to notice this before she went off again.

Delaney's problem with Caysn wasn't not wanting her anywhere near anymore. Now she just wanted her to think over what the hell she was doing before she did it. Casyn did whatever the hell she wanted when she wanted to without thinking what affect it could have on everyone else. Delaney thought she needed to grow up.

"All we've been _doing_ is barking at each other and at some point it's going to get to violence, Casyn! Are so naïve as to think this is all going to be okay? We can't stand each other for more than a few hours! Most of the time I can take it all! I can!" Delaney dropped her voice a little, aware of the angry expression on Casyn's face. "I can take people hating me. I can take people kicking me out, treating me like crap, people screaming at me, people annoying the hell out of me! But you're bringing on these things all at once, Casyn, and I can't take it!"

"Wow. Tough Delaney can't take little problems her annoying cousin brings on. Miss bad-ass hunter." The way Casyn said it reminded Delaney of a little kid. Delaney hadn't been expecting that so her eyes went a little wide with confusion and she dropped her hands.

"You're not a kid, Casyn. You can't think only about yourself anymore. These people can't stand me for some reason unknown to me and as much as I don't like it that they're disgusted by me, I'm not going to go in there for them too. I just…" Delaney slumped back against the seat, putting a hand over her eyes and forehead, her fingers tangling in the hair above her forehead. "I don't know what you want. I don't know if making me go through all of this is what you want, if you really do just want Mexican food and you fail to see what all of this is causing, or…" Delaney looked over at her, her face for the first time revealing how confused and tired she felt. "Or if you're just so afraid of being alone you'd screw everyone else over so you won't be."

Casyn stared at her closely, her face full of serious anger. She opened her mouth slowly, her eyes glued to Delaney's, "You haven't been alone most of your life so you wouldn't understand."

"That's…" Delaney released a frustrated breath. "I get that, I do. But that can't be an excuse anymore, Casyn. It can't. There's people littering this world and if you have that idea in your head that I think you do, about staying with me, about not being alone you can't continue acting like you still are. When you're attached to people you have responsibility, Casyn. And I don't think you get that."

"Don't treat me like I'm some needy kid. Don't treat me like I'm stupid because you don't know me. Ever since we've started this fuckin' drive you haven't taken the real time to. You just want me out of your hair. I'm not sure if it's just the way you are or if it's personal," Casyn answered.

"I can't change my life for you, Casyn. I can't bend you into it because I don't know how!" Delaney tried to explain, the desperation coming across clearly in her voice. "I can't let you drag yourself into this because you have no idea how this can all get! You think you understand, you think because of what you've had to live through you automatically understand everything else! You don't!"

"You won't let me, Lane! You won't! You push me away and you push and you push! Why is it so hard to just believe me? To just let go of all the other stuff and let me in?"Casyn asked with the same frustration that filled Delaney's voice. "We've gone over this so many times but I still don't get what you're trying to say!"

"I'm saying I can't! I'm saying I'm not going to let you get near me! All I've been planning to do is send you back to Bobby's! I can't give you what you want so just let it _go_!"

Casyn practically recoiled at the words and at Delaney 's angry frustrated distorted face. When Delaney noticed this her face softened and her posture relaxed, "Casyn-"

"Forget it. I'm giving up." Casyn said, expressionless. She pushed the car door open and climbed out. Before she closed it, she looked down at Delaney and muttered coldly although Delaney could see the hurt in her eyes, "You're telling me to open my eyes? To realize this isn't only hard for me? To grow up? If I need some growing up to do like you say you do, then I'm not the only one. Because as much as you want to deny it, all of this is just as hard for me as you think it is for you. We both need some growing up to do. And when that's done, I don't think calling me is going to fix anything."

Casyn slammed the car door closed but not before she dropped the car keys in.

Wake up by The Arcade Fire

* * *

><p><em><strong>It's been awhile, I know. BUT SCHOOLS OUT SO I AM READY TO DO SOME SERIOUS UPDATING!<strong>_

_**Okay, I remember someone reviewed that it was starting to get annoying how much Casyn and Delaney were arguing, how one moment they were okay and the next moment they were arguing, how one moment they were okay with each other and they were going to make the effort and the next moment just wanted to get rid of each other. But think of it this way; all those past arguments, they were just leading to this moment. The other arguments, most of them lol, were just little compared to this one. Here, they actually let it all out, all the pent up feelings. I just feel like this is how it works in real life. You argue about little things that don't mean much but mostly because there is something bigger underneath that you're afraid to let out because it'd be catastrophic to your relationship.**_

_**But after this, they'll still argue, of course( a little like bipolar lovers, lol) but it won't be as bad.**_

_**Thanks for all the reviews! I send lots of love! If you have any questions, just send me a message and I'd be glad to answer.(:**_

_**THANK YOU! **_

_**LOVE,**_

_**Mar98**_


	19. Only One: Palo Alto, California

Chapter Nineteen: Only one

Palo Alto, California

September 10th, 2003

2 weeks later

Delaney felt it was all way too repetitive. The whole screaming at each other, getting into fights, letting go, turning away. If she didn't know better she would've thought she lived in a damn soap opera. She was tired of it so she was going to get over it. She was going to dispel it from her mind. And she'd be fine.

She was also just as tired about showing up at people's houses like an old lady selling bibles. It made her feel like everyone else had a place to stay at, but her.

The apartment complex she'd tracked Sam back to wasn't the best but it was what he could afford. Hell, it was more than Delaney could ever afford.

Stanford was a great university, from what she'd heard. She would've wanted to go there if she was good at school studies. But sadly, well not for her since she didn't care, she wasn't good at school and she wouldn't ever take the time to be. It was sad for all the old people that were ignorant to what she really did and thought she was wasting her life. She'd felt like growling she was saving their lazy asses any time she killed a monster. But it would never be satisfactory since they'd probably just stare at her funny and walk off.

The building had several stories, the colors of it too bland for Delaney to even acknowledge it had color. And since she had the habit of not parking in the front of a building if she could avoid it, she really couldn't care less what color it was since all she was keeping an eye out for was anything bad. And anyway, everyone knew that if someone was after you, it was easier to sneak out the back. She'd park her car in the back so she wouldn't have to literally run for it.

If she liked the certain weather depended on the mood she was in. If she was cranky everything pissed her off, of course, and all she wanted was a spot in between where it didn't lean to hot or cold. If she was happy, she didn't really care as much but the cold made her even more so. The heat though, was what she despised. She hated sweating. Like she hated staying at other people's places. She resented herself for already starting to think she was some type of hobo looking for a place to stay. It wasn't that far off either.

Delaney was a little surprised it was cold that night and it had actually been a pleasant surprise. California was known to be hot, everybody knew that. And since Delaney hadn't washed her leather jacket in a while and she was frustratingly debating whether throwing it away was better since it already had a hole in the back from the ghost, she'd pulled on one of her old navy blue sweatshirts. She lost the skinny jeans and put on some regular pants. She didn't need to look good for Sam.

She wasn't sure what feeling emerged when she saw the place and actually realized that was where Sam was staying. Delaney thought it felt a little like hope. Relief. Maybe even a healthy amount of jealousy.

Delaney was leaning against her car, her arms crossed, staring at the stairs behind the place, when the phone rang.

She didn't want to answer it because the moment she was in and debating was important to her and no one was going to ruin it. She let it ring in her pants pocket, the only noise she could hear, the echo not lasting that long after it went silent.

Delaney wasn't sure what she was doing but the fact that it involved staring at the apartment complex made her feel a little like a freak. Intrusive.

She'd always been nosy and as much as people could complain about it, she would never apologize for it. It was her way of showing she cared and if it bothered people, she didn't care.

Delaney wouldn't say it took her a lot to climb up the stairs and look for Sam's room. She had millions of thoughts running through her head, that was right. But it hadn't necessarily taken every ounce of strength to do. It was complicated, yes, but not hard. Never.

She supposed Sam had some type of magnetic field that attracted people to him, whether for his looks or his brains or just because he was the sweetest person she had ever known. He just had a way with people and Delaney loved him. And she'd always listen to him, even if his choices weren't sufficiently justified in her mind.

She'd learned a lot of things about family from the most dysfunctional one she'd ever seen. She thought it kind of funny and she guessed that was why it was the best.

Sam didn't recognize her at first and the look that flashed across his face almost made Delaney laugh. She only gave a small smile despite the excitement and need to hug him that erupted in her chest, but just because it reminded her of when he'd found her in the Impala all those years ago.

He was in a plain gray t-shirt, his hair ruffled and messy, his bare legs only partially covered from the knee up with plaid boxers.

And when he did realize who she was, Sam didn't disappoint her. He smiled.

…

"Delaney! I just… I can't believe it's you!" Sam closed the door behind them and turned on the living room light.

Delaney was too busy taking the sight of him in to look around the place just yet. The size of him had her flabbergasted. He was really tall, 6,3 6,4. She'd never known anyone that big and she was trying to wrap her head around the idea that the Sam that had always been shorter than her as kids, she couldn't even be face to face with him, even if she tiptoed.

His hair hadn't changed much, still shaggy and messy, longer than most guys but not long enough that Delaney felt she had to chop it off. She couldn't stand long hair on guys.

His body wasn't the only thing that had changed. Along with the freaky growth spurt and the muscles came the strong lines of his face. The prominent chin, strong nose. His eyes hadn't changed to her relief. She needed something recognizable in between all of the change. They were still soft and caring.

"What the _hell_ have you been chomping on? Some steroids or what?" Delaney smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist. The anger and doubt she'd been feeling weeks before had dissipated. Like it had never been in the first place.

Delaney tried not to squeeze at his waist but her eyes were bulging at how hard and wide his abdomen was.

Sam gave a loud laugh and she felt him shake his head, "Jess feeds me like no other."

Delaney let go of him, staring up into his face, too relieved and amazed he was okay to ask who Jess was.

"Right. I forgot. Air and time is enough to boost you up seven inches. I won't even bring up how short you were when you were a kid. Won't do me no good." She said.

"Yeah you better not. I can make this backfire on your ass." Sam chuckled.

Delaney finally looked around the small simple living room. The sofas were small, not nearly big enough for Sam to lie down on but perfect for her size if Sam let her stay the night. She was beat.

A window opened up on the far wall, light drapes pulled aside on each side. She could see the beginning of a metal precipice to climb out on, maybe a fire escape. Probably what some of the pull down ladders she had seen outside had been for.

A coffee table littered with papers and a cup or two, a pair of girl sandals under it, and draped over one of the sofas, a peach colored scarf.

Sam smiled widely, stepping in close to her, "It's not much but I love it."

"It's… it's really nice." Delaney nodded, giving him a soft smile. She ignored the girl stuff because she didn't find it important right then.

"So…. Uh, Oh! Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Sam asked quickly heading into an open doorway, with no door. Delaney couldn't keep her eyes off of him. He looked so different yet so familiar. The eyes wrapped it up for her. The sweet ones. He was definitely one good looking guy but that hadn't really run through her mind right then.

Delaney stood still for a moment, giving the room one last look then followed Sam. The kitchen was also small, a sink with a dish rack, a coffee maker, a toaster, a round table and since it was the only one, it was where all the meals were made and ate at. The cream colored fridge was beside the sink and the stove was on the other side of the sink/counter.

Delaney lingered back, her eyes twinkling as she watched Sam scamper to get something for her.

Sam approached the fridge, the swoosh of the cold air bringing back memories for Delaney, of the dirty old motel fridges. He pushed things aside, looking for something and under his arm; she saw the fridge was full of food.

The look of it clogged her throat up for some reason and her eyes watered. It wasn't like she'd gone hungry. But the look of actual food in Sam's fridge made her smile. She remembered so much of when John was gone and Dean had to scramble to feed Sam.

Sam retreated from the fridge, hands empty. He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm not much of a cook."

"A peanut butter and Jelly would be fine then. Don't worry yourself, pretty boy. We wouldn't want those boxers in a twist." Delaney bit down on her lower lip, trying not to laugh.

Sam gave her a narrow-eyed playful look and closed the fridge door with a soft slam. "You woke me up. I thought something was wrong so I didn't bother to put my pants on."

"You just like showing your junk. You get your kicks from indecent exposure, perv." She leaned against the door less door frame. It was too wide for it anyway. It would've been a great place to hang a curtain of beads.

Sam laughed, "Talk about indecent exposure. Since when have you showed your ankles, nun."

Delaney looked down at her feet, slip on flats having replaced her usual tennis shoes or boots. She gave a chuckle, sticking her hands in the pockets of her straight legged jeans, "Hey, I had to keep up. I figured you wouldn't be such a prude anymore."

"Prude?"

"Square if you prefer it. Or nerd." Delaney laughed. "But hey, pretty sexy right?" Delaney pointed a foot, holding out her ankle.

"Yeah, sure." Sam scoffed.

"Sam?"

Delaney instinctively straightened her posture and pushed off of the wall.

The girl was beautiful. Long smooth-looking blonde tresses framed her delicate face, clear of any imperfections or blemishes. Her face was more of an oval shape, her chin refined and smooth. Her lips were luscious, not too big but not exactly small. Supple and red. Her nose was dead center on her face, straight and thin.

Her eyes were a deep blue and her cheekbones underneath them, not as high as Delaney had seen them on other people. A small mole dotted the place in between her thin eyebrows, more to her right then to the left.

All in all, she was beautiful. Even with the sleepy red shot eyes and the ruffled hair. The girl turned to Delaney, eyeing her sleepily. Delaney gave her a tentative smile.

"Oh uh… Jess!" Sam stepped forward with long strides to put an arm around the blonde girl's shoulders. "This is Delaney. My…"

Delaney waited for him to end his sentence and Jess looked up at him, looking over the hesitation on his face.

"M-My… closest childhood friend."

Delaney looked him over carefully, curiously. She stepped forward anyway, holding out her hand. "Hi. Jess short for Jessica?"

Jess looked up at Sam one more time then turned to Delaney, "Uh… yeah. Jessica Moore." She slid out from Sam's arm and stepped forward.

"Mannings. Delaney Mannings."

Delaney didn't expect her to give her a hug but that was what Jessica did. Delaney thought it was kind of weird but when she let go, Jess gave her a small smile.

"You've known Sam since you were kids?" She asked, a brighter smile eventually alighting her features. She dropped her hands from Delaney's arms and sent a teasing look at Sam. "I've been trying to get scoop on his childhood experiences."

"Yeah. Way when we were kids. Rugrats." Delaney laughed, nodding.

"Well, Sam never really talks about his childhood." Jessica tried to say it lightly but Delaney noticed the tension it caused in between Sam and Jess. She looked over Sam's calm expression carefully.

"Yeah uh… it was a long time ago though. The first time we've actually seen each other in years." Delaney put in, smiling softly.

"Why? I mean…" Jess paused hesitating. "I know Sam would've wanted to see you. I… have actually been dying to meet any of his family but since his brother and father work a lot, I'll guess we'll have to wait. Are you studying somewhere else?" Jess put an arm around Sam's waist and he slowly placed his on her shoulders.

Delaney looked at Sam and the look he gave her confirmed her suspicions. Hunting wasn't something he wanted mentioned. "Yeah, actually. Well, I've already gotten a job as a nurse in Tampa. I don't get many free nights since I just started but Sam…" Delaney spared Sam a glance. "We've uh… we've talked on the phone."

"That's nice. It's great meeting you. The apartment is open to you any time," Jess smiled brightly, the sleepiness having worn off.

"Yeah. Babe uh… she hasn't ate in a while. Do you mind making her something?"

"Yeah, sure. Pancakes okay?"

"That'd be great."

Jess pulled out a rubber band from her sweat pants and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She began to take things out of the fridge and Sam gestured for Delaney to sit down in one of the chairs. "They've been sending you around a lot?" He asked quietly.

Delaney didn't understand why he was avoiding the topic and why she had to lie but she answered calmly and smoothly, "Yeah. They're trying to give me some idea of the field. Then they'll let me pick at which hospital I want to stay at."

"Really? That sounds nice. Well, except for all the moving. Your parent must be excited." Jess paused, mixing the pancake batter in a large metal bowl. "I'm really close to my parents and they already feel all anxious about me being in college."

Delaney didn't let the pain go through her but immediately closed herself off and answered quietly, "My parents are dead."

"O-o-oh." Jess stopped mixing the batter and looked over at her. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm fine with it now." Delaney smiled softly, giving a little shrug of the shoulders.

"I'm happy to hear that." Jess gave her a sincerely warm smile. "Oh, Sam! Tell her about what you've decided to study!"

"Yeah." Sam smiled, placing his elbows on the table and leaning forward. Delaney looked at him expectantly. He sighed than chuckled when he noticed Jess was looking and waiting for him too. "I uh… I've decided to go to law school."

"A lawyer?" Delaney raised an eyebrow.

"And one of the best. He's really smart." Jess put in.

Delaney sat back, thinking back at all the times she'd found him studying away. She gave Sam a smile, "You always were real brainy. And the peacemaker."

"I kind of doubt lawyers are necessarily peacemakers since they actually start all the arguments but yeah." Sam chuckled.

"I know Sam moved around a lot. How did you two maintain a friendship? Did you mail each other letters or just talk when Sam would head back home?" Jess was done mixing the batter and was fixing the stove up to cook them.

"I uh… since my dad… died when I was nine my mom had to find a place to settle first and she left me with Sam and his… dad and brother," Delaney paused, quickly thinking over the rest of what she was going to say. She didn't like saying her father was dead but she really wasn't in the mood to think of anything better. She already felt bad for lying to Sam's girlfriend. But, it seemed like Sam had no problem with it whatsoever. "My mom had a lot of trouble finding a place for a while so I ended up staying with them more than I should have. When they moved around, I moved around with them. Like uh… like a piece of gum I was."

"Well, at least everything worked out in the end. Oh, here. Meanwhile the pancakes are ready." Jess opened a cabinet over the sink and took out a plate covered with foil and placed it in front of Delaney. "Chocolate chip cookies. I doubt I'm feeding you very healthy but what the heck, call it a heavy midnight snack."

"Thank you." Delaney pulled the plate towards her urgently and pushed the foil back. She grabbed a cookie and stuck it in her mouth. It wasn't that warm anymore but it was delicious. "Wow…. This is nice. Tastes yummy."

"Yeah, I told you. Jess really knows the way to my heart."

Delaney gave Sam an amused look and he gave her a "What?" innocent look. Delaney knew they weren't kids anymore and accusing him of having a girlfriend didn't make him blush anymore but actually feel proud, so she didn't say anything. But she was going to find a way to make him go red in the face.

"At least I know you're getting fed right, Sasquatch." Delaney smacked his hand when it reached over for a cookie. "You live here, Boy. I get the food now."

"Sam. Let her eat."

"Power to the women!" Delaney smirked and took another cookie.

"So you know Sam's brother and father?" Jess said, the sizzling on the stove being the only sound soon after.

Delaney tried not to look up at Sam as soon as she heard what Jess had said. But she felt him tense up. Delaney slowly took another bite from her cookie and looked up at Jess. She turned to her when Delaney didn't answer. "Y-yeah. That Dean and John."

"You haven't talked to them recently, have you, Sam?" Jess grabbed the pan she had on the stove and dropped a fat pancake onto a plate.

Before Sam could answer a phone ran farther into the apartment and Jess looked up, gently placing the plate in front of Delaney. "I guess it's the night for late visitors and callers. Excuse me."

Delaney picked up the fork Jess had placed beside the plate slowly and stuck it into the pancake, hearing it grate against the plate underneath it.

Sam didn't say anything for a while and neither did she. She honestly thought it made everything more awkward if it was possible.

Delaney decided to break the ice first, remembering all the feelings she'd had towards Sam weeks earlier, "Sam, I-"

"If they sent you to get me back, tell them screw them."

The quiet anger and curtness in his voice surprised Delaney. She looked up quietly, her eyes having widened a small fraction.

Well, he'd gotten straight to the point.

"They…" Delaney tried to explain this without him turning on her. She didn't think he would but by the way he'd responded to her, she wasn't so sure anymore. "They didn't send me, Sam. I came on my own, by my own reason."

"And what's that?" He asked seriously.

"To see you. How you've been." Delaney turned back to her pancake, knowing everything would go smoothly after. She cut off a piece of the pancake and stuck it in her mouth, watching Sam's expression relax. "I see you've been doing pretty well, you lucky bastard. Jess is real pretty and cooks like nothing I've ever tasted before. How'd you meet her?"

Sam gave a chuckle and leaned back, interlocking his fingers behind his neck. "My friend Brady introduced us. You should meet him. He's a good bud. Besides his problems but I'm helping him get over that.

"Yeah, you're the helping type. And I hope you'll continue having that great streak because I need a couch to sleep on. I can already hear it calling me. Besides that, I won't be staying long."

Sam crinkled his eyebrows and leaned forward but before he could speak Delaney interrupted, "I mean, if it's okay with you for me to crash here for one night. And… it also kind of looks like you'd want me to stay a little bit longer." Delaney's voice had grown a little surprised by the end.

"Well… yeah." Sam gave a shrug. "You're Delaney and I haven't seen your pain in the ass self in years. Jess wouldn't mind you staying for a few days until you can find another… hunt. You haven't found one or you just decided to stop here on your way for a free place?"

"Oh, you know me. Cheap pain-in-the ass." Delaney sighed satisfactorily, rubbing her stomach when she'd finished the pancake. "Nope, I actually haven't found one in a few days. But I bet Bobby could use some help from me or something."

"Bobby?" Sam's face burst into a wide smile. "How's the old Bobby?"

"Great. Or still as cranky as usual but what the heck, that's him." Delaney returned the smile. "And you wouldn't believe what the old bastard did!"

"Hey, if Bobby heard you call him that."

"He knows I'm crazy for him so it don't matter, but anyway… he threw away the old slide!"

"Really? The one you got your shirt stuck on that one time?"

"Yeah, yeah. Typical you to remind me about that damn incident."

"Oh yeah! And you were about to cry because we'd seen your stomach!" Sam gave a loud laugh. "You were such a prude! See, you had no business calling me that!"

"Shut up! I was nine, dude. I thought I deserved to leave you guys something to the imagination."

"Everything that is."

"Oh! And when Dean pulled your feet over the side and…" Delaney inwardly winced. Not a good thing to bring up. She sent a look in Sam's direction but she knew he was acting like she'd never even mentioned him.

"Well uh…" Sam cleared his throat. "You can stay here. Until Bobby calls you with something or you find something."

Delaney pushed the plate away, the excitement and humor from a few seconds earlier, not having left a trace. "I think I'll just go in the morning."

"No, really. It's a pullout couch. We have extra pillows and blankets and-"

"I mean, I don't think it's a good idea, Sam."

Delaney had assumed Sam would try to get her out of the place as politely as he could because of Jess. Not necessarily because they were a couple and they needed privacy but because she'd assumed she was only someone he wanted temporarily in his life from then on. She dragged back the world he'd sworn off and she knew it. And by the looks and lying or averting they'd done earlier, Jess had no idea what Sam had done before and Sam wanted to keep it that way.

Delaney sighed at Sam's confused expression, "Hey, I'm not gonna judge because I'm not too fond of when people do it to me but… by the looks you were eyeing me with earlier, it seems like Jess is dumb-headed when it comes to what you did before college. To what… your family or I do. I don't like lying Sam believe it or not so I'm not gonna stick around and do it to that sweet girl you got living with you."

"I ha-"

Delaney held up a hand,"You don't have to explain it to me, Sam. I get it. I do. Telling her… could scare her away like it has to everyone else we'd ever gotten close to as kids. I understand… but I'm not so sure keeping that much from someone you get to as close as you have, is okay. We grew up doing what we did and I know it's affected a lot of who I am."

"Hunting isn't me, Delaney. I'm done with it and it never was me. Even when I did do it… it never felt right. It was never what I wanted and as far as I know, I dropped enough hints saying so."

"You may not have liked it, but it made you _you,_ Sam. You… keeping this from her is like keeping some of yourself from her. And I bet she's told you most of who she is, everything that you haven't gotten to know. But hey, I'm not good at this stuff right?" Delaney shrugged. "I haven't been in a relationship like yours ever so I can't say and lying isn't always bad, I guess. But I'm pretty sure me sticking around is bound to make it harder."

"You talk like if all I do is lie to her," Sam shook his head.

"You do a lot though. Well, at least when she ask you about your past, your childhood. And she'd bound to do that while I'm here."

"You're my sister, Delaney. And I want you to stay and talk to me." Sam reached over the surface of the table and grabbed Delaney's small hand in his. "I hate lying to Jess. I really… I really truly love her. It feels so weird sometimes, because as I grew up, I thought I would never have the chance to be able to be as close to someone like I am to Jess. It happened and it's true. And I'm not going to let what I did as a hunter mess it up."

Delaney looked down at her hand in Sam's and softly sighed.

"But…" Sam lowered his face to catch her expression. "That doesn't mean I'm giving you up, Laney. You're the only one that understands why I did this. The only one not judging me. So… stay. Okay?"

Delaney looked up at him, trying not to let the disbelief plaster her face. Had Sam just let her into his life over his own brother and father? Had he really just done that?

Sam's eyes ran over her, searching her face. He tried to remain quiet until she spoke but when she didn't he let out a low laugh, "What?"

Delaney opened her mouth, ready to scold him like she usually would've but the look of him, the place he was in and who he was living with made her rethink it. That wouldn't be the best way to approach anything. And Sam clearly wasn't the kid she'd known. He wasn't a kid anymore.

Delaney closed her mouth, slowly pulling her hand out of his. Sam looked at her confusedly but she gave a shaky smile. "Okay. I'll stay. U-until… well, when Bobby calls."

"Great. That way we can catch up on everything."

"Yeah. Catch up."

* * *

><p><em><strong>:)<strong>_


	20. Change An evergoing thing Palo Alto

Chapter Twenty: Change; An ever going thing

September 11, 2003 Palo Alto, California

"Wow. Mr. Sam Winchester goes to cafes now. I guess me fumbling over the mysterious word that resembles whiskey a few minutes ago shows you how little I've been in places like these and what other places I've been in." Delaney smiled over the edge of the cappuccino Sam had ordered for her when she didn't recognize any of the things on the order board above the cashier.

The place was cozy and since it was so much earlier than the time Delaney usually woke up at, she was letting loose a small yawn every now and then and the bags under her eyes were still going strong. Delaney was somewhat happy that they had diminished even by a small shade.

Delaney had woken up to find Sam hurrying her up to get ready for some breakfast out. She guessed that hadn't changed. Jess had gone to work early and Delaney had made herself at home in the pairs shower. It had been days since she'd been in one of those.

The café was nice but a little too quiet to what Delaney was used to. The only contact Delaney had had with humans for years had been at Ellen's saloon and they weren't the best people either. She kept on expecting a loud belch to sound out and the feel of a big fat hand grazing against her butt "accidentally".

They were seated by the window, looking out into the street, Delaney's back to the entrance and the cashier/ server. Another couple, around their forties or fifties, were seated behind Sam, in a clear table in the middle of the place. Delaney couldn't help but run her eyes over them thoroughly, searching for anything weird about them.

Sam hadn't put down his coffee since they'd sat down and with his other hand, he was breaking off pieces of his blueberry muffin. "Yeah…. I'd rather not know."

"Like I said, what a big prude. This ain't that bad though. I'll give you some points for it." Delaney moved her warm drink towards him a little then brought it back up to her mouth.

"By the time you leave, you're gonna stop thinking of me as a prude," Sam chewed, his eyes twinkling.

"I doubt it." Delaney gave a little shrug of the shoulders, pretending to look around the place but actually keeping an eye on him from the corner of her eyes.

"Ahaha, we'll see."

"I can't ever stop thinking of you as the little seven year old you were." When Sam raised an eyebrow she sighed. "Fine. But I can't ever stop seeing you as someone I need to protect. Or someone I need to look out for. A baby brother."

When Sam didn't drop the look he was giving her she took a bite of her muffin, never breaking his stare. She put down the muffin quickly and shook her head, "Fine, fine. This whole sentimental bullshit hasn't taken a toll with you yet, Mr. Tough guy. You were such a little girl when we were rugrats anyway."

"So were you."

"I am a girl, idjit."

"I see Bobby's wearing off on you."

"In more way than one so don't test me, boy."

"Ouch. Wouldn't want you to spank me."

"Bobby never did that! Hmmm… I don't have a particular aversion to it. But I won't give you that satisfaction."

"I don't have my mind in the gutter unlike you, Laney."

"I do not, you prude!"

They both laughed and Delaney put down her cup, wrapping her thin white sweater around her. The café's air conditioning was working good, Delaney thought too good.

Delaney had actually been enjoying staying with him and Jess. She'd only stayed with them one night so far but they had made her feel cozy. The sofa hadn't been that uncomfortable and the food from the night before had her mouth watering every time she thought about it.

She actually liked Jess. She'd revealed her sense of humor the night before, right before they'd gone to bed and Delaney had noticed the way the pair had looked at each other. It reminded her of so many things. Of her parents looking at each other the very exact same way, years and years ago.

"Can you uh… can you answer me a question, Sam?" Delaney spoke quietly, picking at the remains of her muffin.

"Sure." Sam dropped his hands onto his denim thighs and watched her closely, giving her his full attention.

"Were you scared?"

The blank confusion that ran through Sam's face was heavy. He opened his mouth, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"About leaving."

Delaney knew it wasn't a good idea to dive into that subject but she couldn't help it. She couldn't ignore it because that was the reason she was there in the first place. Sam's decision had ruffled up more than one person and she considered herself one of the most ruffled. She thought she deserved to know something because they were family.

Sam hesitated, his face slowly becoming a mask of indifference. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Not even to me? To your sister? I understand a lot of why you did it and I just want you to elaborate on what I don't." Delaney spoke calmly, reaching over the table slowly and taking Sam's hand.

The feel of it instantly made her feel better but not any less precautious with what she was going to say.

"You talk about it like it's some psycho analysis." Sam chuckled dryly.

"I didn't say anything about that. Is that the way it feels to you?"

"Can you just…. Can you just stop talking like some shrink?" Sam pulled his hand away, leaning back against the chair.

Delaney didn't move back but kept an eye on him. "After what I went through with Dean, I sure damn feel like one."

Sam's eyes flickered in her direction for a moment but he didn't say anything. Delaney waited but when she realized he wasn't going to say anything, she moved back crossing her arms against her chest.

"Like I said before, I'm not here to judge contrary to popular belief. I'm frigging ecstatic you got into Stanford, Sam! I am! I'm like a proud momma but… I'm just…"

"What?" Sam looked up at her, his voice not abrupt or angry. Calm but still determined to hear what she felt.

"I…. And I'm being a hundred percent real to you here… things have been so scrambled up in between John and Dean since you left. Just… are you sure you made the right choice?"

"So this isn't the right choice because this is about me? Because I made a choice that screwed up Dad's little hunting schedule?"

"Man, things have been about you for a long time."

Sam's eyes narrowed at what she said, showing the very beginning of his anger. He sat forward slowly and stared Delaney in the eye, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Delaney resisted the urge to lean forward as well, despite her aversion to people getting in her face, aware that she'd never really argued with Sam about something super serious. It had happened various times but the pair had gotten a long better than most. They'd known that in a lot of ways they thought the same. But Delaney didn't think like him when it came to his choice. She understood why but she didn't approve of it.

"I mean, Dean raised you, Sam. He went hungry for you."

"So the guilt trip?"

"No, Sam." She said slowly, restraining her frustration. "I'm just saying that Dean pretty much did everything for you. He never complained because he saw that as his duty to the family. You know how he is. More loyal than a damn dog. And now that you're gone, he's lost. He was drunk all the time. He wouldn't speak to me. He shut down."

"Dean?" The disbelief in his voice made her grit her teeth.

"Yes. Dean's everyday has been for you. It's not like you're shackled to him, you're not, Sam. But you should think about the consequences to all of this."

"So I'm just supposed to give up my life for Dean?"

"He gave his for you. I just don't want you to shut your family out. Dean's gotten as close to that as he can get and I don't want you to do it too. You can do whatever the hell you want with your life, Sam. You know I'll love you just the same. But you can still keep your family in the picture here, even if you do different things." Delaney knew that wasn't all true. She could feel it but she wouldn't have given up like the Winchester's had. She wouldn't have.

"You're more naïve than I thought if you really believe that." Sam shook his head, looking away bitterly.

"And you're more selfish than I thought if you really mean that." Delaney leaned forward, pulling Sam's eyes back to hers.

"Maybe so. I thought I at least deserved something to myself after a whole childhood of doing what I did. Of seeing what I did. I thought I at least had that right."

"We all have that right and you know that. But the difference with some of us is, if we take it. You had a responsibility to those people, Sam. To save those people."

"Responsibility?" Sam snapped. "I have a _responsibility_? Come on, Delaney. Even you know that sounds butt loads of ridiculous."

"You'd be willing to turn away? Just like you have, just like you are, no matter if that leaves innocent people to fend for themselves and most likely _die_ at the hands of what we've dealt with?"

"Since when have they ever given a damn for us? Tell me, Delaney! What have I gotten from doing what I did besides scars and nightmares? Why should I give my life so they can live theirs in their cocoon of ignorance and serenity? Huh?"

Delaney found herself confused and surprised by the look on his face. He looked and sounded so angry and frustrated. Like if he had been cheated countless times for the only thing he'd had the perseverance to live for. He looked violated and beat. Tired.

Sam's face slowly softened at the deal of surprise in her face. Sam was sure he hadn't imagined the disappointment either.

"I'm… I just got tired of it all. You can call me selfish, Delaney. You can be disgusted by how easy this was for me, by how far I'm willing to go to have this. But, like you said, you understand and you can't judge me. You would do the same thing." Sam, having realized he hadn't spoken as quietly about it all like he should have, lowered his voice.

"I'm not disgusted, Sam. I'm disappointed. But all in all, it's your life. Do whatever the hell you want. Forget your family if that would make you feel better." Delaney's voice didn't hold anger or frustration anymore, All she wanted then was to get out of there. "But you're wrong about me. I had more than once chance to take the ticket you've taken. Every minute is a chance. Every second. But I'm not taking it. You_ know_ why. You can say I'm not as strong as you, as to be able to blow it all off like some phase or time in my life. But the truth is, I wouldn't _ever_ do that. I can't."

"Don't go." Sam muttered quietly.

Delaney looked up at him curiously.

"Come on. I thought we were past about how much I know you."

"People change but in that case you're right."

"Delaney, come on. I haven't seen you in years and even if we look at this from different angles, I don't want you to leave. Please. Not you."

Delaney struggled with herself, the looks Sam was giving her not making it any better. She could see the pleading in his eyes, the little puppy dog eyed streak in them. Besides being a little surprised at where the conversation had gone, she couldn't have said it completely shocked her. Bringing up the infamous subject of departing was something that wasn't taken well with the Winchesters. She'd learned that a while ago.

"Please. Just a little longer. You're not busy and if what I said bothered you, I'm sorry. But I'm not apologizing for trying to be someone better than what I was."

Delaney watched him, her eyes narrowing a little at the words he spoke. She tried not to snap back at him but it was taking her a lot of restraint. If Delaney could have a say concerning what he'd just said, Sam had seemed like a way better person before.

The café was quiet, the few people around them immersed in their quiet conversation, occasionally sipping from their warm drinks. Delaney guessed they hadn't really been talking that loud. It had felt like a really heated loud conversation. It had probably just been her feelings disconcerting her.

"It's not…. It' s not a good idea but… fine." Delaney sighed, standing up with her cup of coffee and leaving to throw it in the trash can by the door and Sam followed suit, closely behind her.

…

"Shouldn't you be heading back home to Jess?" Delaney looked down at her flats, placing one foot neatly in front of the other as they approached the bench in the middle of the eventless park. It reminded Delaney of the parks her and the Winchesters had gone to when they were still useless enough for John to have let them gone. Boring and empty.

"No, not yet. The place is pretty lonely." Sam sat down first the patted the space next to him.

Delaney gave the park another once over and shrugged as she slumped down.

"So umm… solo hunting?"

"Why do you keep bringin it up, Sam? You're threw with it so let it go." Delaney muttered irritated.

"Well, you don't do anything else, do you?" Sam snapped back.

"I do! I have some type of life. I…." Delaney trailed off, not sure what to say. "Maybe I don't but I don't wanna talk about what takes up my whole damn time. Why don't we talk about… your studies?"

Sam watched her silently and Delaney scuttled under his stare. She turned away from him and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

She didn't want to talk to Sam about hunting because she was pretty sure that all of the things she'd gone through would freak him out. Thinking of the things she'd gone through reminded her of the shape shifter and she instinctively pulled her arms closer to her body.

Sam noticed this and observed her even closer.

"Delaney?"

"Yeah?" She tried to make it sound light, turning to him with a small smile on her face.

"Did… they hurt you?"

"Who? Bobby? I don't think he'd go to that extent." Delaney knew it sounded pathetic but she gave her head a little shake and let out a small chuckle.

"You know what I mean." The low tone in which he said it.

"I swear you Winchesters…." She sighed. "I always get hurt okay? Walking to my motel, getting in the car. No big deal, Sasquatch."

"Those scars are from falling down the stairs? And the one on your back is barely forming into a scar. Are you sure you're-"

"What Sam? Doing my job right? I'm pretty sure getting hurt was part of the gig. I can handle it fine." Delaney dropped her arms, placing her hands in her lap and turning away again.

"I just don't like the idea of you getting hurt." Sam insisted, his forehead wrinkling in worry.

"Pluh-ease, Sam. That's all we've been doing since we were young enough to go to school. It isn't anything new." She shook her head but turned to him anyway. Sam looked away, a hurt expression on his face.

Delaney sighed, "I really am fine. Since when has a measly demon been able to bring me down, punk?" She placed a hand on his shoulder.

Sam refused to turn to her but when she slid her hand up to his hair to ruffle it, his face broke into a small smile and he leaned away.

Delaney was about to mention his shaggy hair when they heard someone shout his name from across the street.

He was a blonde guy, tall and more on the lean side. His hair was parted to the right, gel slicking it in place. He was wearing a suit and he had that…. uncomfortable look to him. More like it made Delaney uncomfortable. With his strong facial features and calculating smile. If Delaney didn't know better, she would've pegged him for a demon. They always did go for that kind of look.

"Sam! What are you doing here?" He jogged over, his suit rising up to show his dark socks and black dress shoes. It served to show that Delaney wasn't used to formal, she had no idea what the hell shoes like that were called. Not that it matter to her, anyway.

Sam stood up, placing a hand on Delaney's arm so she stood up too. "Brady! Hey, what are you doing here? We just uh…." Sam looked down at Delaney than back at Brady who had stopped in front of them and smiled, "This is a very close friend of mine. I would call her my sister but it isn't technically true. Delaney, this is Brady. The one I was speaking about to you earlier."

"Uh-oh." Brady laughed. "That's never a good thing."

"Brady is studying business. Brady, Delaney is a nurse."

Delaney really didn't like nurses or even faking the fact that she was one but it wasn't like she could go on out and tell everybody what she really did. So she just forced a smile at Brady and hoped it didn't look like she was in pain.

He was looking at her funny, was the first thing Laney noticed. His eyes were glued on her and while they were silent, she just waited for him to say anything.

"Wow…." he muttered and Delaney leaned forward, waiting for his next words.

Sam watched all of this intently, with crinkled eyebrows.

"You….. have the prettiest eyes I have ever seen."

Delaney blushed. "W-what?"

"Your eyes," Brady unleashed a smile that could make girls melt. Delaney was more confused by it. Was he….. hitting on her? "They are the most perfect shade of-"

"Poopoo brown?" Delaney really hadn't meant to say it but she wasn't used to this type of flirting, if that was what was going on. She wasn't used to any type of flirting really. Well, she was used to the type that involved an "involuntary hand" grazing against her butt and a couple of shots being handed to her free despite the fact she could get them free anyway.

She blushed harder as she heard Sam release a snort from next to her. It was all Casyn's fault really. She was the one that had brought up the fact that her eyes were the color of poo.

"Uh…. not really. I was gonna say the perfect shade of chestnut brown." Brady was smirking with an amused twinkle in his eye and Delaney was trying her best not to look embarrassed and she knew she was failing miserably.

"O-oh…. well, thank you. It's all my mother's fault really. She has those…" Delaney cleared her throat awkwardly and swore to give Sam a good kick in the shins for the soft chuckles he was letting out every few seconds. "Uhmmm….. brown eyes… too."

"I would thank her. Because I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life."

"Uh, I would thank her too but she's dead so….." Delaney blurted out and winced. She couldn't focus with the way some really cheesy sweet things that were being sent in her direction and the way she was sadly ruining every single compliment.

Sam, thankfully intervened, "Brady's, she's my sister. So relax it before I have to beat your ass."

"Hey, you said she wasn't technically. Really? You want to reenact the scene at the gym from a few weeks ago?"

"I'll wait in the car." Delaney muttered.

….

Delaney rinsed her mouth out and wiped her mouth dry with a small towel in the restroom. She dropped her toothbrush in the toothbrush holder and was about to turn off the light switch by the door when she froze and turned back to the white sink.

Over the years she'd gotten so used to sweeping into a room tired as hell, taking a quick shower, and brushing her teeth. When she was done she'd always drop her toothbrush down and climb right into the recently cleaned sheets of some old motel beds.

But Sam's apartment wasn't her house. She sighed and slumped towards the cup with the other two toothbrushes.

She wanted to call Dean but she knew he'd ask where she was and she still wasn't an expert at lying to him. She felt alone in Sam's place because he wasn't the same Sam from a few years. Granted, she wasn't the same Delaney. She was more disturbed and scarred but she tried her best to be the same person as she had been before and Sam well… he was trying his best to be someone else for Jess.

"You can leave it there."

Delaney jumped, spinning around. She sighed when she saw Jess at the door in some striped pajama pants and a green undershirt.

"Whoa there. You okay?"

"U-uuh…. Yeah. You just scared me." Delaney plucked the toothbrush out of the cup quickly and clenched it in her hand tightly.

"Yeah, I noticed. You practically jumped out of your socks. What were you thinking about?" Jess stepped into the restroom and leaned back against the sink. "Well, if you don't mind me asking."

"No, I don't mind I was just thinking about how nice it is to see Sam after a long time." Delaney ran a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, I can tell he's really cheered up. He was down for a few days before you showed up." Jess smiled softly.

"Really? Why?"

"I have no idea." Jess gave a little shrug, her face revealing a deep worry. "But… the other night his phone rang. A few days ago. I told him to answer because I had to go to work early the next day but he didn't. He looked at the phone and his face just ran… cold. And then he refused the call."

"Did you check who it was?" Delany crossed her arms.

"No. Sam likes his privacy and well… I respect it. Speaking of privacy…. He'd never mentioned you until yesterday. You or his brother and father. He tells me everything else but that's the one subject he won't budge on. Did they…. You know… not get along?"

"I… I really can't say anything about that, Jess. It's not my business to say. But…" Delaney fidgeted. "Dean and Sam…. They were real brothers. Blood brothers." Delaney stopped as if to think and it looked like she was remembering something. Jess watched her quietly. "No one could ever understand them like they understood each other. Not even me and I'm the closest thing they had besides there father and a man they think of as an uncle."

"Dean's not… he's not you know, Dead?"

"No! He's not but they just… they have problems now."

"Oh. Well… I shouldn't bother him anymore about spending a holiday with his family anymore. A girl just doesn't want to feel like she's a dirty secret." Jess tried to pass it off as a joke but Delaney could tell she'd begun to think that after a while.

Delaney gave a chuckle at how absurd that sounded, not because it wasn't the most rational thing to think of whenever your boyfriend refused to let you meet his family but because Sam had bigger secrets to keep than a girl.

"I'm pretty sure you're the only girl Sam has loved more than me," Delaney laughed and Jess gave a soft giggle, turning slightly red. "Sam just doesn't want you to get exposed to… well, Sam's family is really…." Delaney struggled for the right words and Jess waited silently, leaning forward anxiously to catch something more about her boyfriend's mysterious family. "It's just… it hasn't been right for a while."

"Yeah but no one seems to want to tell me why. Did they have a fight before he came? " When Jess saw how Delaney fidgeted she took a step closer to her and whispered, "Or… did they fight _because_ he left?"

"I can't…" Delaney gave a humorless chuckled. "Sam would kill me. He'll tell you one day. I'm sure of it."

"Fine, fine. I won't ask anymore. I just don't know why he won't trust me enough to tell me that even after I've told him everything there is to say about me!" Jess sighed, slumping down to sit on the toilet but not without checking the cap was down.

"He has trouble sharing his childhood. It wasn't a pretty one as you well now." Delaney gracefully raised herself up to sit on the sink/ counter.

"I know. And I do feel bad about that but… I want to help. I want to comfort him."

"I get that and he does too but right now it's just best to wait." Delaney gave a small smile, attempting to make Jess feel better about it all.

"Umm… you're right." Jess ran a hand through her wavy blonde hair and gave Delaney a bright smile. "How much longer are you staying? It's been a while since I've gotten to hang out with another girl. My friends all went out to see their families so how about we go shopping tomorrow? I can ask for a day off and honestly… you really need some new clothes."

"What?" Delaney laughed. "I have some… nice clothes."

"Please, I'm not a fashionista but I at least I know how to dress myself."

"True. But…"

"Pretty please! Oh come on, Laney! I need some time out and Sam hates to shop. Give me some release here, woman!"

"I was really planning on going tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I have some work waiting for me!"

"Oh be quiet, if I can get a day off so can you! I'll talk to your boss!" Jess stood up abruptly and began to head out of the room.

"Okay, okay. But I don't have any cash so I don't know how that's gonna work out."

"Oh, stop making excuses. Have a good night's sleep cause tomorrow we're going shopping, girl!"

For the first time in a while, Delaney was actually terrified.

…

The living room was quiet as Delaney fixed the pull-out sofa. She had the T. V on with the volume turned completely down.

She was struggling to open up the sofa to fix the bed, the metal felt like it was stuck and every time she really pulled it squeaked very loudly. She didn't want to wake up Jess and Sam who were in bed because she knew Sam was probably going to classes and Jess… well, Jess was going to drag her along to who-knew-how many stores.

She heard footsteps and stopped struggling to fix the sofa-bed, hoping that whoever was up was just going to the restroom down the hall. But the footsteps came closer and Sam appeared at the living-room doorway.

"I… can't get the bed out." Delaney let loose a laugh and gasped when she realized she needed to be quiet. "Sorry."

"Jess is a heavy sleeper. Let me see." He neared the sofa-bed and Delaney stepped aside to give him space. He yanked it down once and it released and he smiled at her pompously.

"Shut up." She whispered, smacking him in the back of the head.

"So…. Brady asked me for you number."

"Oh no…." She looked down at her feet and placed a hand on her forehead, in a symbol of embarrassment of frustration. "That was horrible."

"No," Sam paused, lying down on the sofa-bed and folding his hands behind his head so his elbows were sticking out from either side. He sighed contently and continued, "That was hilarious. "Poopoo brown"? You crack me up." Sam almost let out one of his booming laugh but before he did Delaney scampered to cover his mouth.

"Shut up, no respect for your sleeping beauty of a woman. Now, scoot over." Sam was too big and they struggled to fit on the single bed, trying to find the right position so they both had the same amount of space.

Finally, they ended up both looking up at the ceiling. They were quiet for a while and Delaney debated telling Sam that he should go back to Jess before she came looking and found them just lying there. Jess didn't seem like the type that would assume something besides friendship but Delaney didn't want to take time with Sam away from her.

"I miss him. Both of them. I really do, Laney. But I still can't help be angry. It's my life. And I don't want theirs anymore."

"Sam-"Delaney was about to warn against talking about something like that at such a late hour when they were both really tired.

"I know. I should just let it go. I just…" He trailed off and Delaney waited. When she knew he wasn't going to say anything else, she sighed.

"I didn't think you'd ever say you miss them. Or that you're somewhat sorry."

"But I'm not sorry."

"I think somewhere deep down you are. I think somewhere deep in your heart you're sorry that it had to be done this way. You're not sorry for leaving to have a better life but you're sorry you had to leave them behind."

"I…. guess, yeah. You've always understood me better than most." Sam's hand reached for her and the rustles of the sheets as his hand neared hers reminded her of all the times they'd had to sleep in one bed and how she's always picked Sam to be her bed buddy. His hand gripped hers firmly and Delaney closed her eyes.

"Gosh, I'd never thought you'd make it, Sam. And to be honest, I'd been wishing you would for awhile. Somewhere deep in me too. I'll miss you and I'm a little hurt and I'm a little angry but…..you can do this, Sam." She sighed again, and she felt her lips begin to tremble and teardrops at the corner of her eyes. "I don't want to say this because in a way I feel like I'm betraying Dean but…. Sam, if you do anything, get out. Don't…" She stopped. It didn't feel right to ask him to leave her and Dean and Bobby and John.

Sam realized she wasn't gonna finish and he laughed.

"What?" She asked, puzzled, opening her eyes.

"Remember when we teamed up on Dean that one time that he left us stranded in the middle of nowhere so he could have sex with some slut."

"Yeah." Delaney gave a laugh too, at the memory. "That was the most creative thing we'd ever done with bananas."

"And the time we stayed up the whole night watching old movies when Dad was hunting vatalas and you kept on arguing with Dean over who was a better actor, John Wayne or James Dean and Dean accused you of only liking James Dean because of how handsome he was."

"He was pretty easy on the eyes."

"And then he said that you like James Dean because in some way he reminded you of himself because his last name was Dean and they both had colored eyes and you were inexplicably in love with Dean."

Delaney snorted, "He thinks everybody is in love with him."

"Were you…. ever… in love… with him?" Delaney appreciated the careful way Sam asked but she really didn't want to answer a question like that.

"I…. don't know. Maybe at some point I thought…. something could…. happen?" Delaney sighed and shook her head. "I don't think I ever really thought it was true. I was fifteen the last time I saw you guys and a teenager and well, we're all horny then. Maybe I was attracted to him but…. love, in that sense. Probably not."

"Hmm."

"What, Sam?" Laney turned to him, an inquisitive eyebrow raised.

"You sure? Ever since we were kids I've felt there was always something more going on between you two. Something underneath everything else that the both of you were too freaked out about to talk about."

"Yeah, sure." Delaney scoffed and turned the other way. "He's cranky and noisy and mean and angry and…. _horny _a-and….. I just don't. I have a job to do and I'm gonna do it and Dean is the closest thing I have for a brother and we're all screwed so we're good, got it?"

"Hey, I got it. I don't know about you."

"I got it, Sam. I got it good. Do you?"

"Of course, I got it good."

And they both laughed quietly because the words sounded so ironic coming out of their mouths.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Lovely reviews, please! I AM HUNGRY FOR MORE!(:<strong>_

_**Thanks to everyone how reads and thank you for taking the time to review!  
>LOTS OF LOVE,<strong>_

_**Mar98**_


	21. Fathers: Vermont

Chapter Twenty-One: Fathers

September 14, 2003

"Casyn?! That's your friggin' surprise?! I would've preferred an ass full of rock-salt, Bobby!" Delaney slammed the door to his study closed and watched angrily as he rounded his heavy desk and dropped into his chair with a firm grip on his flask.

"THANKS FOR THE FLOWERS!" Casyn scram all the way from the kitchen where she was rummaging through Bobby's refrigerator.

Bobby had called Laney the very same night she'd agreed to go shopping with Jess. To be honest, Laney had felt relieved that she'd be avoiding the shopping trip. She'd been starting to feel out of place at Sam's, no matter how nice and welcoming they'd been.

Delaney watched as Bobby's hand froze on the way to his mouth, the flask lingering close to his lips. She watched curiously as he lowered it and capped it, setting it down on the desk.

"Why?"

Delaney was stumped, "Wha….Why what?"

"Why? Why would you have preferred an ass full of rock-salt, Delaney? Why?" Bobby gave a little shrug of the shoulders with the last "why". He wrinkled his eyebrows at her and she took a step closer to him.

"Bobby…." She paused, giving her head an incredulous shake. "Are you… are you _interrogating _me?"

Bobby gave a chuckle and leaned back in his chair, "Hey, I'm just askin'. You're obviously pissed at the girl. God knows why."

"'Cause she's an asshole, that's why!" Delaney quickly sat in the chair in front of him and leaned forward, muttering quietly. "She's rude, gets in my business, and doesn't know the line between work and fun. Oh, and since we're talking about lines, she also doesn't know the one between friendly conversation and a damn therapy session!"

"She sounds like you." Bobby shrugged again.

"I would like to think I know a little better than that." Delaney crossed her arms roughly and leaned back in her chair as well, it creaked from the sudden movement and she glued her eyes to Bobby.

"Uh, you don't. And how old are you, Delaney? You sound like a little girl. You better get used to the idea of Casyn because she's gonna stick around whether we like it or not. And why are you denying her so much? She's your cousin, girl. She's family. "Bobby leaned forward suddenly, his face somber. "Most of us would give almost anything to have a Casyn. Because that's better than having someone you know go because of a monster. So consider yourself lucky, kid. Before I have to knock some sense into you."

Delaney didn't say anything as Bobby pulled something out of his desk and placed it in front of her. Delaney recognized it as the journal Casyn had said belonged to her father.

"I read it. And I don't know how in the hell I didn't think of it before but I think I know where your dad is."

And Delaney's heart froze.

…

September 15, 2003 3:00 AM

Vermont, Delaney's Old Cabin

Nostalgic. That was the one word for the old place when Delaney drove up in front of it, Casyn in the seat next to her.

It looked the same, except for a few minor things. Like how it looked darker and scarier and a lot more unfamiliar. It looked darker because, of course, it was three in the morning. But it also looked darker because she remembered the last time she'd ever looked out on it and what had made her leave it in the first place.

….

October 2nd, 1990 Delaney: Nine years old.

"Where are we going?"

Jane really didn't want to snap at Laney. She really didn't. But if she wouldn't stop asking questions soon, she didn't think she'd be able to stop herself.

It was four in the morning and they'd been packing all of Daddy's things into the car for a while now. Jane had let Delaney sleep for as long as she could but once Delaney had been ruffled, she usually couldn't. Jane was tired and upset and Delaney wasn't helping.

"Mom? Where are we going?" Delaney slipped off of the hood of her mom's car and trailed behind her mother as she strutted to the back of the car and opened the trunk.

There was a loud hoot from the woods and Delaney's breath caught, instinctively she grabbed onto her mother's arm. She usually refused to do so in other situations, because for God's sake, she was nine but it was dark and scary and she hadn't seen her father in a while.

"Delaney, either help me load the stuff up or _sit down_." Jane shook her daughter's arm off from her jacket and threw one of the various duffels that were by the cabin's door over her shoulder.

Delaney stumbled her way to the other stuff waiting to be loaded up, her eyes wide, flitting to every region of forest she could see.

She reached for her backpack and carefully put it on. As she was reaching for a suitcase her mother came up behind her and caused her to stumble forward a little bit. Delaney caught the wall before she fell forward but there was a loud thud as the pistol she'd been hiding fell out of her jacket pocket.

She reached for it quickly, trying to hide it before her mother saw her with it but just as her hand got a hold of it, her mother's hand smacked it away.

Jane roughly turned her around and Delaney closed her eyes, expecting a full on lecture.

But when her mother didn't begin to bombard her with curse words like she did when she was very angry or smack her upside the head, Delaney opened her eyes.

Jane was kneeling In front of her and from being that close to her, Delaney could see the wrinkles that hadn't been there two weeks ago and the bags that drove deep under her eyes. There was worry in her mother, a contamination of stress, anxiety, and everything else that was poison to the soul and body. There was nothing worse for a child, than to see their parent so close to unraveling. It was the unraveling of the child's safety net, foundation. Parents were supposed to be the invincible ones, the strongest of them all. Seeing her mother this close to the edge, scratched against her feeling of her mother being the ultimate protector. More and more, Delaney realized her world was the farthest it could be from perfect, or safe for that matter.

"Delaney, why do you have a pistol?" Delaney had never really been used to her mother's soft voice. Delaney wasn't a bad kid. She was curious and talkative and liked to run around as much as she could inside the house. So, subsequently, things were broken. She was athletic and every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday since she was five, her mother had taken her to ballet lessons, like any other little girl. Delaney enjoyed them, she really liked dancing, any kind. But she only danced when she felt like it, which upset everyone except herself. The point was, Jane had to shout. A lot. So when Jane used her soft voice, it came as a surprise.

"Mama… Where's daddy?"

Maybe it was because of how tough of a night it had been, how abrupt the phone call the day before had been. Maybe it was how Delaney wouldn't be quiet. Maybe it was how lonely and hurt Jane felt inside but instead of sugar coating it like a mother should, Jane spoke like a hunter.

"Daddy is dead."

…

Present time.

"It doesn't want to open. Not with any of the keys I picked out of mom's box, not with my lock pick, all the windows are sealed tight, and there is no back door anymore. So…. I think we're gonna have to knock the friggin' door down. Casyn, are you listening?"

Casyn was as comfortable as can be in the front seat of the Chevelle, headphones on and a half-eaten burger in her hands. And apparently, Casyn couldn't hear Delaney.

"Casyn!" Delaney, who was standing by Casyn's door, reached through the passenger side window and gave her a smack on the head. Casyn looked over at her with an irritated glare and took the headphones off.

"What?"

"There's no way in. We're gonna have to knock the door down. I need your help. And where did you get that burger anyway?"

Casyn looked held up the burger nonchalantly and shrugged, "Don't remember."

Delaney rolled her eyes and opened the door so Casyn could get out. Casyn discarded her MP3 and burger on the seat and tightened her belt.

They approached the door and Delaney noticed that Casyn was extremely familiar with the whole setting of the situation. Delaney had grown up in the cabin before them and had lived around the forest most of her life, like a wild woman, but that had been years ago and even as a child she'd been a little put off by the forest sounds. Casyn wasn't even starting or hugging herself for warmth. Not like Delaney had been earlier while trying to pick the lock and while rounding the house for any possible entries.

"You seem peachy." Delaney commented.

"What do you mean?" Casyn reach the door before Delaney did and put a hand on it. "This thing is fuckin' thick. How the hell are we gonna knock this down? It feels like friggin' castle."

"Just…. I don't know. We'll figure it out as we go. I mean, you're not freaked out by the setting we're in." Delaney softly pushed Casyn aside and examined the door, giving it a once over from the top to the bottom.

"What? Am I supposed to be scared of some critters? They're just little nuggets. They'll never get close enough to us." Casyn shrugged before a small smile came into play. "Why, are you?"

Delaney, who had been thumping her foot against the door, looked back at her. "What? No. Why would I be?"

"Sure. How about… we do this…" Casyn pushed a confused Delaney out of the way and walked a few feet away from the door.

Delaney caught her drift and her eyes widened, "Casyn, I don't think that's a good idea."

"I've seen your boy Dean do it. I thought you'd be more for the 'Woman can do anything men can and even better' drift."

"You don't have 50 pounds of muscle on you, Casyn! You're gonna hurt yourself"

"Oh shut up!"

There was the thud of Casyn's boots as she ran for the door and Delaney quickly debated whether she should tackle Casyn before she hit the door. It would be a lot less damaging than Casyn running into the door.

But before Lane could do anything, Casyn crashed into the door and like a dust bomb, dust flew everywhere. It all caught Delaney in the face and she inhaled it by accident. She began to cough and in between her hacking she heard the crash of something heavy and a loud, "Oww!"

"Casyn?" Delaney waited for the dust to part before she entered the house, trying desperately to catch sight of Casyn.

There was no sound and Delaney was still having trouble seeing and breathing. She took a step forward and felt the door creak under her. "Hey, if you're joking, it ain't fuckin' funny. Casyn?" She called out.

She rubbed at her eyes and she finally caught the shape of things. She was standing in the living room; it was curiously empty; she remembered they'd left everything. Maybe her mother had thrown everything out. Delaney was flustered about where the dust had come from until she saw a large sheet lying next to the front door she was standing on. But no Casyn.

Delaney pulled out the bigger knife she had tucked into her right boot and pulled on the slide door that opened up into the kitchen. It slid open with no noise and she tried her best to hold off the memories that the sight of her favorite place in the house brought to mind.

Casyn wasn't responding and she was sure Casyn had had no time to run off farther into the house. Delaney hadn't thought it possible for the house to be colder than it was outside but it was.

Moss was growing on the inside, sliding up and down walls. Dirt had arranged itself on the tile floor as a thick coat, a protection against the feeling of comfort and the home it had been. The long counter that rested against the wall opposite of her was clean, devoid of any kitchen utensils and electronics they had once had. A few leaves lingered on the counter and the broken window above the sink let her know how it had slithered in.

Delaney truly tried as hard as she could to cut herself off from all of the memories that burrowed themselves in her subconscious, that had eluded her until this precise moment, the moment she needed them the least. But her effort amounted to nothing as flashes of her father in the very same kitchen came back to her.

She remembered feeling groggy one morning, tired but hungry. She'd had a ballet recital the night before and she'd been more than a little pissed off that her father hadn't made it.

...

November 2nd, 1989

"Delaney! Where is it that you're going exactly?" The night was cold but Jane wasn't worried. She'd wrapped Delaney up in warm attire as best as she could, a little excessively if Delaney had a say. Jane watched as Delaney waddled away from her looking like a marshmallow in her heavy coat and scarf, her boots leaving small footprints in the snow. She couldn't help but smirk at that.

"I'm gonna go get him, that's what!" Delaney was furious, as was obvious in the way she was struggling to stomp her feet. How dare her father not show up for her ballet rehearsal?! Yeah, she was old enough to realize he was busy and any other time she'd riled in her reaction/feelings toward his absence but today the dam had been damn broken and she wasn't going to hide behind a "Oh, that's fine."

"Delaney, you know your dad is busy." Jane watched as Delaney began to rapidly speed up her steps, reaching the stairs in front of the performance hall, as other people rushed towards them as well, headed for the parking lot where all the cars waited.

Jane lost sight of her for a moment, and panic was sent as a pulse through her body. People were quickly filing out of the performance hall and shoving occurred, with Jane returning it all full force. She was trudging forward when she heard a couple of gasps and grumbling. When she reached the first step, she saw why.

There had been several snowmen on display in front of the hall, in an area that was usually a small park on its own during the spring, summer, and fall. It became covered with snow in the winter, obviously, so to make it more lively, snowmen were built.

Delaney was murdering them all. Such a small girl could not be so angry. But the swift kicks to the snowman's crotch begged to differ. And as the first one fell apart in front of her, Delaney let out a maniacal laugh.

She quickly moved on the next one, unaware that people were watching her. She headbutted the next poor victim and when it didn't collapse in fear but drop its carrot nose on her head, Delaney became Mike Tyson, punches swinging from her skinny arms. She was grunting like a mule giving birth, her scarf and hat having fallen off.

The place was quiet as people watched. Jane was dumbfounded. Then she began to laugh. People turned to her, eyes wide in confusion and the light-bulb lit up; Jane was the mother of the snowman jumper.

The rest was a blur as kids began to cry and Jane, trying to stifle increasingly hysterical laughs, dragged Delaney away from the place of her crime and drove her home.

Jane should have told her that she ruined a perfect winter display; the embodiment of Christmas, that she had really frightened some children. But she just couldn't. She watched Delaney out of the corner of her eye, steering carefully on the snow-covered road. Delaney had her arms crossed in front of her, eyes forward and jaw set.

"Those snowmen looked pretty harmless to me. You really scared those kids".

"Good."

"It isn't Dad's fault he couldn't be here."

"Yeah, yeah." Delaney waved a dismissive hand. She looked like a teenager when she did that and Jane smirked. "I get it. He has to go punch monsters and all that. I'm not stupid you know."

"Yeah, I know."

They'd gone to bed well enough, Delaney without dinner so that early the next morning she was hungry. She trudged out of bed, throwing her covers off of her, and made her way downstairs. She walked into the kitchen and almost jumped out of her pajama bottoms when she saw her dad leaning against the counter, taking a bite from a cookie.

"Hey!" Delaney let out, instinctively.

Her father dropped the cookie innocently, and gave Delaney a smile.

Delaney would not break.

"My recital was yesterday."

"I know. How'd it go?"

"Good. I crushed the snowmen outside of the hall into smifereens." Delaney was teasing her father, hoping to launch him into a lecture.

"Into smifereens?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, into little weak pieces."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because I wanted to. I'm seven you know." Delaney was fond of the "you know", which she felt like adding at the end of every sentence.

"Yeah, I do know." He came up form behind the counter and bent down to give Delaney a hug. She evaded him with a giggle and climbed up on the counter, reaching for her own cookie. "Hey, that's a little rude!"

"Delaney feels like being a mean girl today."

"Other parents would spank their kids just for sitting on the counter."

"Other parents wouldn't be able to catch me. That includes you, buck-o."

"Her vocabulary is over-developed. She needs to stop reading." Delaney's father mumbled under his breath as he stood back up with a grunt and watched as Delaney dangled her lanky legs over the edge of the counter. "Why is it that you feel like being a mean girl?"

He stood next to her, his behind against the counter.

Delaney looked up at him and shrugged."Sometimes I just feel like being mean."

"That's not very nice."

"I know."

"Really, how did the recital go?"

He watched as Delaney mulled it over, pulling at her pajama bottoms. She rolled her neck from side to side, counter-clockwise, as if she were exercising. She was just restless. "Ummmm... I looked for you."

"Yeah..." with a nod he led her on, waiting for her words.

"You never came..." Delaney turned her body halfway to reach for another cookie behind her.

"I get busy, Delaney."

"I know." She hunched her shoulders as she devoured another cookie, making cookie monster noises.

"But I have a surprise for you!" He jumped in front of her and Delaney's eyes began to twinkle.

"A BB gun!"

"No."

"A barbie doll house?"

"No."

"A dog?"

"I'm staying home today. We can spend the whole day together."

"Oh."

"Isn't that exciting?"

"Whoopee." Delaney hopped off the counter and her father watched her with a flabbergasted expression on his face. But when he realized Delaney was holding back smile he chuckled and picked her up. She squealed in delight.

...

Delaney could feel the presence of all the memories she had made with her small family in her old house. She didn't think anyone would be haunting her home as it would be a cruel joke on her, being a hunter and all. A hunter staying behind as a ghost seemed like the funniest thing to her at the strange moment but she didn't laugh or chuckle.

She hurriedly left the kitchen and caught sight of the room that had been her parent's. Her mom's room mostly as her dad hadn't often been home. She took a deep breath, ignoring how dark the hall seemed and strode with confident steps towards the door. She swung it open and froze.

Casyn was on the floor, her elbows supporting her in a half sitting up half lying down position. Her eyes were wide open and she had blood at the side of her mouth. But in front of her, in front of the door and with his back to Delaney, towering over Casyn, was a man. A man in flesh and blood, as real as Delaney or Casyn.

Casyn's eyes flicked towards her, wide and confused. The man turned and Delaney couldn't believe her eyes. Her breath caught and tears began to sting.

"D-dad?"

...

October 24th, 1991

"Come on, Cas! Harder!" Her father's voice boomed against the walls of the empty dark dojo they had broken into late at night. They were in the middle of a large blue mat at the center of the gym-like room, Connor holding up a large punching bag which Casyn, with her skinny arms was trying to ravage.

Casyn was punching as hard as she could with her thin arms and small fists, exerting her whole body into the fall of one punch after another, but the only thing she'd eaten that day was one of those small ramen bowls with milk. It hadn't been her best concoction but it beat the peas with orange juice. She felt light-headed and the more her dad pushed her to punch the stupid punching bag, the more she couldn't feel her arms or fists.

Her breaths were beginning to sound like she had something stuck in her throat and the air was barely squeezing by with a squeal.

"Does he really expect me to punch as hard as he does? With his stupid military training?" She couldn't help but think.

"Harder, Cas!"

"I... can't." She let out as she gave the last punch and shortly collapsed onto the mat, her chest rising quickly with every twitching breath. Connor dropped the punching bag to the side and proceeded to roughly pick Casyn up, as if she were a rag doll, and place her firmly in front of him. He tried to let go of her but every time he so much as tried to let her carry her own weight she began to sink back down onto the mat.

"Casyn, this isn't funny! Stay up. You've only been training for an hour. We have to make full use of the facilities since you've skipped training for three days. Come on, you can take it." He grabbed her small fists in his gigantic hands and squared them in front of her.

Casyn tried to regain her composure but fatigue plagued her features and her build. An hour of training with her father felt like a lifetime.

"Now, aim for my neck!"

Casyn was struggling keeping her eyes focused

"Casyn, I'm talking to you!"

"I can't!" She grumbled, stumbling backwards. Tears began to fill her eyes. "I'm tired, Dad! And hungry! What's the point of training to fight monsters when I can't even get a good dinner in my stomach! It hurts and I'm tired! I'll have no chance against any of those things at this rate, anyway." She fell down on her butt and rubbed her arms angrily.

"Get up, Cas!" He thundered.

She ignored him, roughly taking off her shoes, her arms feeling like noodles.

Casyn didn't often fight with her father. They were as close as could be and she never felt the need to blame him for the situation they were in. Even at the age of eight, she understood that she was trying his best but she was just tired. Too tired to react to the fact that her father was shouting at her, which he rarely did.

"You think this is just about monsters? Vampires, werewolves, djinn?!" He crouched in front of her, demanding her answer. Casyn avoided eye contact. "This is for all those assholes who ever dare to hurt you, human or monster. Who dare to put you down, try and break you down, try to make something of you that you aren't, Cas." His voice began to soften. "I can't always be there. Daddy will not always be around. I'll have to go, just like everybody else." The tone in his voice was laced with knowledge, wisdom, about the way he could leave this world. "You can't hesitate when they come at you. You have to be hard, be strong, be fierce. Alert. Physically and mentally. Emotionally, even. You can't leave them enough time to grab you, to suck you in. In the military, they teach you the morals of combat. In any form of combat, Martial arts, Judo, Kung fu, you're taught when it is right, honorable to attack another. I'm teaching you my way. You swing, first thing. You fight, Cas. Teeth and nails if you have to. Dirty fighting isn't something you should avoid because of shit morale. You do what you have to."

The last six words wrung true for Casyn. She'd truly come to understand those words later in her life. People would criticize her instinct to first attack and then ask questions, to first swing then look at what she hit. Most would call her reckless, but to her, it was being safe.

To her, it was doing what her father had taught her.

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Okay, I know I have a lot of apologizing to do. I probably haven't updated in close to a year, and I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't be expecting reviews for this update then. Many of you might have even forgotten that I was even writing this story! lol.<strong>_

_**At first, I was truly too busy to write with high school and all. Then, when I finally had time, I had forgotten what I was gonna write so I had to reread my whole story, from the very beginning (It's Never Fate). Then, I was just... stuck. I still feel stuck so I'm worried this chapter sounds choppy, rough, and just plain awkward. I'm trying to find my flow again, my writing style, and eve the story and characters, again. I really want to continue this fanfic but I feel terribly stuck. Away from the computer and the word file, I have so many ideas and dialogues but once I sti down to write, it's like...blank... Or it just sounds too weird and awkward and just... wrong. **_

_**Hope it gets better as I progress more into the story.**_

_**Thanks to all those who've reviewed and stuck by me and scolded me for not updating. And I truly am Sorry.**_


	22. Learning to be okay: VermontWisconsin

Chapter 22- Learning to be Okay

September 15, 2003 4:30AM

"Should we... you know... talk about it?"

Delaney could feel how tense Casyn was beside her in the car. Delaney sighed and shook her head even though it was dark.

That had been Delaney's problem for years. She always wanted to talk about it. Dean was sad, let's talk about it. Sam had left, let's talk about it. John was drunk, let's talk about it. Delaney and her need for talking had left everyone annoyed out of their minds and frustrated. Now she knew why.

How was she supposed to relay years of feeling like her parents had abandoned her? How was she supposed to explain what it felt like to be beyond pissed at your mother just to have her die after telling her off? How was she supposed to explain the hope that had inundated her insides at the ridiculous thought of her father still being alive, traveling to her childhood home, reopening that wound, just to call out your father's name to a ghost that wasn't him? It was pretty damn hard.

She made a mental note to never ask anyone to talk about anything ever again.

"You know... I know of a place where you can go where you'll feel better."

"What? Your arms?" Delaney gave a faint chuckle and Casyn gave a nervous one as a response.

"No. A better, less smelly place. I'll be right back." Before Delaney could respond, Casyn opened the passenger side door, slid out of the seat, and ran in the direction of the house, but instead of heading for the main entrance she rounded it and disappeared into the back yard.

Delaney didn't have the energy to be curious about what she was doing, so instead she just closed her eyes and willed her mind to be empty.

Apparently, a hobo had been living in her house, had died, his bones located in her old room. She'd burned them once she'd realized the ghost wasn't her father. The hope had made her see her father's face when in reality the hobo looked nothing like him.

Casyn's footsteps came near the car once again but Delaney still didn't open her eyes. They stopped at the open passenger side door and a hand reached out to her.

"You have to see this."

Casyn sounded surprised so Delaney opened her eyes and gave Casyn a skeptical look. Casyn just shook her arm again, half of her body inside the car and the rest of it shaking impatiently, urging her to hurry up.

So Delaney got out of the car and followed Casyn as she led her to her backyard. At the edge of the trees Casyn showed her what looked like a headstone covered in weeds and Ivy.

"I think you know what it is." Delaney turned to Casyn to find her holding back a smile. The weird girl was excited about a gravesite.

Delaney reluctantly knelt down in front of it, her body seeming to protest through aches that engulfed her knees and wore down her strong thighs. She sighed and carefully reached out, ripping the vines from the stone, sighing softly as she did it.

She stopped when she saw the name.

Damon Mannings.

Her breath caught. Her father? His gravesite?

Bobby had not been wrong.

Casyn didn't move behind her and in no time Delaney forgot she was there.

The gravestone was simple, no writing, no quote or none of what usually was on one. All there was, was a name.

Delaney could've cried like she'd done a million times throughout her life. She could've broken down at what seemed like the first and most appropriate time to do it but strangely, she didn't.

Seeing her father's stone made her understand what she had been doing wrong all those years; she'd been crying too hard and too easily at the things that didn't matter. She loved Sam and Dean, but crying at every little thing they'd said because it hurt her had been childish. The most appropriate time to cry was met with no tears because she'd shed them all.

Relief was what released in her chest. As a child, she'd never known where her father was. He was off hunting, was as much as she'd ever known. She'd understood that someday he'd probably never come home and it had happened too soon in her childhood.

The relief that she felt was knowing where her father was and that he'd always be in the same place.

That was enough to give her peace of mind for many years to come.

Delaney leaned forward and left a kiss on the headstone, placing her hands on her knees as she slowly stood up.

Casyn watched her do this cautiously, waiting for the onslaught of tears and dramatic monologues that came along no matter where Delaney went. When she just placed a hand on her shoulder and led her towards the car, Casyn was surprised.

She understood, though. Visiting her father's grave had given her a lot of peace despite knowing that not everyone rested in such peace.

It was the one moment, they both knew, where they'd understood each other the most.

They'd both lost father's in a ridiculously tragic way but were both able to see the brave men who had been willing to put themselves in that situation to have their children and families survive.

The Manning's men had been men.

...

September 17, 2003 Wisconsin

"She didn't really do anything, Bobs." Casyn was pacing outside the motel room they had rented that morning. Delaney had gone inside to take a nap and Casyn had taken a call from Bobby out of Delaney's hearing range.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?"

"Didn't cry, didn't shout, didn't shoot me. Just... kissed it, stood up and led me to the car in a perfectly polite way. She hasn't said anything either. But listen to this, "Casyn stopped a good distance from the motel door and whispered the next thing, "She changed it to the hot 101 station in the car."

"And?"

"You gotta listen to me here, Bobs." Casyn groaned, running a hand through her freshly showered hair and began to pace again, the flip flops she was wearing smacking against her heels. "She NEVER listens to pop. I mean, NEVER. It's always blues with the chick. No wonder she's always depressed."

"Call me back when you've got it together. And stop calling me bobs, idjit."

"Wait!" Casyn shouted into the phone but closed it when she heard no response. She shut the phone with a clack and stopped to stand in front of the motel door. Just staring at the door made her anxious.

Casyn wasn't a very sensitive soul. At least, she didn't tend to show it or want to talk about her feelings. As far as Casyn could tell, Delaney seemed to be the total opposite so the thought of walking back into the room and having to deal with a crying fest was, she didn't know, TERRIFYING. The last time she'd been forced to deal with a person crying she'd dropped them off at a therapist's office and high-tailed it out of the state. Casyn just wasn't the type to hold someone while they were crying or stick around for long when someone wanted to talk things out. It probably had to do with the fact that her father had taught her to punch first anytime she felt threatened or horribly uncomfortable. Crying and mushy stuff made her uncomfortable. But she could hardly punch Delaney one. Or could she...?

Casyn shook her head and sighed.

"Daddy, you've practically socially incapacitated me. I am doomed to live a sad lonely existence with only my knifes for friends."

She placed her hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath and slowly squeaked it open.

She gave a little hop of surprise when she saw that Delaney was already up and messing around in the small kitchenette, moving over pots and pans.

What the hell...

"Where'd you get that stuff?"

"Took it from the kitchen. They won't realize any of its gone. You feel like eating anything?" Delaney smiled at her over her shoulder and Casyn almost choked on her saliva.

She'd known Delaney for a a month or two or three (Casyn was bad at math or anything that had numbers in it) and she'd never once since the girl smile.

What the heck was going on? Was she possessed?

"Are eggs okay?" Delaney stopped moving around and turned to face Casyn, one small hand on her hip.

"Uh..." Casyn had been bullied as a kid for being stupid and slow but she'd never really believed it. Her mind hadn't been quick enough to retort shit back at the fuckers but her fist had taken over fast enough. Now she was feeling bad for punching those idiots when they must've been right.

"You okay?" Delaney looked her over and Casyn nodded.

"Eggs are good."

This was too weird. They hadn't argued since the day of the grave discovery and Delaney hadn't shouted at her to leave yet. It felt good, Casyn admitted, but weird nonetheless. Was Delaney in shock? Had she expected to still need to look for her dad? She had reacted strangely calm that night, no tears shed, nada.

Delaney was a crier, Casyn knew that already. So was she crying at night when Casyn was asleep on the opposite bed? Or was she holding it in? Casyn wondered where all that water went. Her bladder?

"You can start setting the table, I guess. Not that we have much, you know, but you can arrange the plates in a pretty way if you want." Delaney said without turning to face her. Casyn closed the distance between them.

She watched for a few seconds as Delaney fussed about with the eggs, maneuvering the pan this way and that before putting her hand atop Delaney's.

Casyn's voice was low and when Delaney thought back on this, she realized with a laugh that Casyn was trying to be threatening or frightening as she muttered the next sentence, "You think you're smart, don't you?"

Delaney's eyes crinkled at the edges as confusion formed in her face and she took a step back only for Casyn to take one forward as soon as she did.

"Uh..."

"You're one bad demon, bitch. Delaney doesn't cook, she cries."

Realization illuminated Delaney's face; her mouth formed a small amused smile before opening to let Casyn know that she was mistaken but before she could Casyn grabbed the pan of scrambled eggs and unleashed it on the other side of the room, where it hit the wall with a loud pang and dropped to the tile floor.

"What th-"

Casyn did try her best to tackle her and she could feel her father's spirit shaking his head dejectedly, disappointedly, as Delaney countered it and had her sprawled on the motel floor.

Next thing she knew, she was dripping wet, the feel of holy water on her face and a knee in her crotch.

"I'm sorry, " Casyn spat. "I'm... I'm just sorry."

...

2 hours later

"And, you didn't cry so I thought you were possessed. Plus, the fact that you made eggs just reinforced my intelligent observation."

"Casyn, you know nothing about the supernatural besides the fact that it is a possibility. Cooking eggs for breakfast is being nice not demonic."

"I don't know, for those sadly afflicted with egg allergies eggs could be something akin to Satan."

They'd just eaten breakfast at a Dairy Queen and were sitting in Delaney's car, unsure of where to go.

Delaney should have probably been heading back to Ellen since she'd promised to be back in two days or three after dealing with the whole Dean issue but she'd been gone for what must have seemed like a year. Hey, what could she say, she was miss-able. And miserable.

Laney was aware that Casyn thought she was overcompensating, hence the attempt at tackling her and the abuse of the eggs that somehow, in Casyn's brain, had equated demonic possession a.k.a Delaney not being herself.

Delaney was miserable but her mind had never been as clear as it was then. She felt like she could think now and her thinks were telling her that it was time to move on from being the depressed somewhat immature person she'd been since getting back with the Winchester boys. It was time to make her own life. Whatever made her realize this, whether it be finding her dad (in such an obvious place, when you think about it) or having Casyn tackle her for not being herself; a sad frustrated depressing and depressed girl (which was sad in itself, being known as the sad dramatic girl), she was thankful for it.

"Casyn." Delaney stated and chuckled when Casyn snatched her hand away from the stereo like she'd been bitten by something.

"Yeah?" She asked, tentatively.

"Thanks."

"What?"

"I said thanks."

"For what?"

"I don't know. Just take it."

"I don't wanna."

"I'm saying thanks for making me realize that I am a depressing person to be around."

Casyn blinked slowly and Delaney could just hear her mind wondering if maybe she was being punked or that it had been right in thinking it was dealing with demon Delaney.

She opened her mouth then closed it. She opened it again then closed it again. She opened it one more time, shrugged, and finally said, "You get fucked up by ghosts, man. You're allowed to be friggin' depressed. Just, don't do it anymore if you can help it. I don't like to be reminded that my life is full of shit and that I'll die in a horrible way someday and that no guy can handle this kind of crazy and that motels are nasty. So, keep your sad person feelings to yourself."

Delaney stared at Casyn blankly for a few seconds. Casyn stared at Delaney blankly for a few seconds. Then, Delaney couldn't hold back the smile anymore and Casyn's eyes opened a little in panic.

"Why are you smiling at me?"

"Where have you been all my life?"

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>So, to all you smart people out there, what does this mean? Hmmmm?<strong>_

_**That Delaney's mind and life has hit a turning point. Her eyes have been opened. She has found the wind beneath her pits.**_

_**Which is Casyn, if you weren't sure.**_

_**I'm very happy to say that we will finally get to ACTUALLY know Delaney. I've said that I don't know how many times and have just reverted to Delaney being the same sad depressed Mary-Sue-ish type character which is pretty boring. I don't know about you guys but reading a story through the perspective of someone so bland kills the story for me. **_

_**This will obviously be a challenge since I've never been forced or have tried to make a character that seems like a real person. I mean, I HAVE tried but I've often lost that goal somewhere in the writing process and have realized it too late.**_

_**I just really wanna make her believable and actually like her because to be honest, I re-read my stuff and she's kinda annoying. So Delaney going through this realization is kind of like me going through it too.**_

_**So, I'll work harder and hope you like it.**_

_**~Mar98**_


	23. Casyn's Family-Past Colorado State Lines

Chapter 23- Casyn's family

September 18, 2003 Colorado

4:00AM

It was no surprising feat or astonishing coincidence that Victoria woke from a predetermined light sleep even before the Chevelle was heard driving onto the dirt road that opened up her house and kitchen to the world. Those who knew Victoria knew that she was well aware of who was in that car and what they wanted.

So before the car doors opened and feet hit the dirt ground with a thud, Victoria's feet traversed the wooden steps that led down to her restaurant and to the main door. She flung it open after having stopped a few seconds to unlock it.

Two female figures stopped in their tracks as Victoria, the tall woman that she was, stepped out onto the porch.

"Vic, hey. I'm sorry for coming late but I was gonna ask if Lane and I could stay the ni-"

Victoria shushed her with a wave of her hand and wasn't even reassured, like all the other times, when Casyn immediately fell silent.

"The hunter is not welcome here."

Victoria heard silence followed by a sigh then watched carefully as a figure moved in the extra dark night, as there were no streetlights in the middle of the desert, climbed the porch steps, and stopped in front of her.

She was hoping it was the hunter so she could tell her to her face, directly.

"Vic, I-" The hoarse voice in front of her was silenced by a faint tight-lipped mumble of "Victoria" behind her.

"Victoria," The hunter corrected and tried again. "Yes, I'm a hunter. I've killed... uh...things. Witches," the floorboards under them creaked and Victoria smirked. The hunter was nervous. "I've stolen things and lied. I've, you know, done hunter-ly things. But... that doesn't make me a bad person." The hunters voiced rose a little on the last word. "I've saved a lot of people and helped a lot of people a-"

"Except for the ones you stole from."

There was silence from the hunter. Footsteps neared the porch and climbed the few steps. Victoria knew it was Casyn.

"Victoria, we all know you hate hunters. I mean, we all know you despise them. That you'd chop 'em up into little bits and throw them to your pigs and then kill those pigs, put 'em in your tamales and drop them off at the closest hunter's lair. We ALL know that. But Delaney here, she's my girl. Yeah, we fought a little, I stole her keys, she called me a baby and I cried and all that soap-opera shit, but we're good now. She'd never hurt a fly. Well, you know, if it's not possessed and I don't even think that's possible and you have a fly problem anyway s-"

"Anyway, Victoria, I'm willing to do as you ask. I-"

Victoria cut the hunter off, "Leave."

"Thought so," the hunter mumbled and retreated the same way she had come.

"Victoria, you're being terribly close-minded right now," Casyn said and Victoria could hear the disapproval in her voice.

"What is the name of this place?"

"Victoria's."

"Nice to know you remember. So, go. There's a motel an hour or two away. Drink some of your red-bull coffee shit and you'll make it good as new."

"Victoria."

"Casyn."

"I..." Casyn paused before taking a few steps closer to Victoria. Victoria could feel her getting closer and before she could react, Casyn had leaned in and began to whisper.

"Yeah, Eduardo and Emilio. That shit sucked, " Casyn's difficulty pronouncing the names of Victoria's sons was a stark reminder that Casyn, despite her seemingly end-less good intentions, did not always understand as much as she thought she did. Victoria could only restrain a sigh as Casyn talked on. "More for you than for anyone else. But you've met Bobby. He's the _good_ kind. I can assure you, so's Delaney."

"Nunca a entrado a mi casa el alcoholico."

"He's not alcoholic, he just has... issues. Plus, Delaney is a different person." Casyn paused and Victoria could feel her thinking. Like always, the girl was full of dark stuff, all the way to her scalp. It had always left Victoria stumped how the girl could pull so much sunshine out of her ass and fling it around when she remained so full of such heavy thoughts and emotions. But, that was Casyn for you. "You're right. It's your place, I can't force you to let me catch a snooze on your beds."

Before Casyn took a few steps towards the porch stairs, the door behind Victoria creaked open and Cruz's voice hung in the air, "That you, flaca?"

Casyn spun around and they could all hear the smile in her voice, "In the bones."

"Ey, shouldn't you be going inside and rummaging through all our cabinets?"

"Victoria won't feed me and my hunter."

Cruz took a while before responding. "That bitch is here?"

Victoria felt a small flame of anger erupt in the chest of the hunter, who she knew was standing by the crap car of hers. She'd probably stolen the thing. Victoria's hand twitched.

"Now, now, we're leaving. No need to pull out the gun like last time. The effort's appreciated and all but I don't wanna see anymore blood than I absolutely need to. Except, you know, when Vicky makes her blood sausage. That only _I _can strap up the right way. I'd be happy to help Vicky. You know how Cruz gets about the blood."

"Drop off your hunter first and we'll see."

"Yeah, I get it, see you later."

Casyn stomped down the stairs before the Ortegon's could say anything else. When one door slammed closed and Victoria could feel the next one was about to, she called out, "Bring your stupid hunter in."

...

4:30 AM

Uncomfortable was an understatement. Nervous was a gross injustice. And regretful was the most accurate.

Delaney was once again seated at the colorful tables covered in a plastic covering she assumed was meant to protect. There was sizzles coming from the back and the sound of Casyn's laughter.

Delaney wished she could laugh. But the bald-headed Mexican in front of her was making it a little tough.

"You look like a watchdog." She muttered, poking at the table as Cruz didn't even try to hide the fact that he was watching her every move. Delaney flicked her eyes towards him for a moment before smacking her hands down against the table like people do when they lean on it to get up, and chuckling, looked him straight in the eye. "You never seen a girl or what?"

This was her tactic when she was nervous. Intimidate the shit out of the one who was intimidating the shit out of her.

"Didn't know they let _chicas_ hunt. Guess you white people have your reasons."

Delaney didn't even bother responding to that one. She just wondered why Casyn liked these people. Free beds and free food summed it up, she guessed. That's Casyn for you. She'd fraternize with sexist ignorant fools if they gave her enchiladas.

"Guys, look at this! Isn't it a masterpiece? Magnifico!" Casyn spun out of the kitchen with a plate on each hand. She place one in front of Delaney and sat down next to Cruz with the other. She dug in almost immediately to Delaney's chagrin. She watched as Casyn cheerily tore a tortilla in half and dipped it in the refried beans before her. She scooped some of them up before popping the little bean boat into her mouth.

Delaney cautiously pulled the plate Casyn had placed in front of her closer and also reached for a tortilla from the tortilla-holder.

"Aren't those cool? They even have tortilla holders. White people have bread boxes or shit like that so I guess other cultures have to have them too." Casyn shrugged, her cheeks looking swollen from all the food in her mouth.

Delaney tried doing the same thing as Casyn, wary of Cruz's watching eyes. She assumed Cruz was getting ready to lay another one on her.

"So, you still going to school?" He turned to Casyn sitting next to him.

Casyn started choking on her beans.

Delaney couldn't restrain a smile.

"Uh... no. I'm kind of... a... vagrant now. Have always been, actually. Nothing new there. Quit school. Wasn't very fun with all the tests and books and stuff. So, no, Cruz. No more school."

"You went to school?" Delaney asked with an eyebrow raised.

Casyn looked enraptured by her beans and tortilla.

"You go to school?"

Delaney's eyes flicked towards Cruz, trying to gauge whether it was a serious question or just another insult due to her hunter-ness.

When she saw Cruz's eyes devoid of ridicule and a little less of hostility, she gave her head a shake.

"Didn't think so."

"Was that due to me being a hunter or a woman?"

Casyn, chewing, was flicking her eyes slowly between Cruz and Delaney. What she sensed she felt she could fix.

"Do you think he's sexist?" Casyn raised her eyebrows in question as she shoved another bean boat into her mouth. When Delaney didn't answer she smiled and shook her head, "Honey, Cruz isn't sexist. Or racist. But he does have a disdain for hunters like his mother. It's... pretty... sort of... understandable once you hear the story."

"Well, I guess I like stories, " Delaney muttered dropping her eyes back to her beans.

Cruz gave a deep chuckle before muttering, "It's one of murder and it involves two brothers and two hunters."

Delaney was reminded of the Winchester brothers.

"I'm quite familiar with that combination."

"Do you wanna guess?"

"Two hunters who are brothers."

"Wrong. Two brothers who were murdered by two hunters."

"Vampire brothers?"

"Ortegon brothers."

Delaney fell silent.

Cruz no longer looked as passive as he had looked before. "Two Ortegon brothers went out on an errand for their psychic mother and didn't come home. Why? Because two hunters assumed that because the two brothers were rounding up 'suspicious' herbs for a 'witch' they must be some fucked-up monsters. Now we have two less people in this family."

Delaney couldn't find the slightest trace of a warm word in his statement, besides family or mother, but she could see it all in his eyes. That shit hurt.

Delaney cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for your loss. But that has nothing to do with me."

"Yeah, well, that's what your kind said too when we demanded they retire."

Delaney was shocked, "You asked them to retire?"

"Would what you ask the person who wasn't doing their job right and it ended up costing lives to do?"

"Did they?"

Cruz's response was a scoff.

"Storytime's over." Casyn stood up with her plate and hastily exited the restaurant area.

Delaney didn't utter another word in Casyn's absence mostly because she had no words after what Cruz had said. Casyn had said that Victoria's family was a big one but the place looked empty. She wondered how long they'd had to live with that bummer.

She still did not know why they had decided to believe all hunters were like those two idiots who had ruined more than one life. Every hunter she knew would never be that irresponsible. But, she couldn't say there weren't stupid ones either.

When Casyn came back she told Cruz they'd be taking a nap in one of the rooms upstairs. He said nothing but just walked out of the restaurant and a a minute later Delaney heard a car drive off.

Delaney hoped she wouldn't be murdered in her sleep in the name of two dead Ortegon brothers.

...

Noon

When Delaney felt a finger brush the inside of her left nostril, her first thought was to shove.

A kid, no more than four years old hit the wall by the bed Delaney and Casyn were sleeping in, with a dull thud before unleashing wails of the like Delaney had never heard before.

She was shocked and therefore unresponsive for about 10 seconds before she slipped out of bed and did nothing but watch as the small brown kid before her spilled tears and snot into his ever-open (and screaming) mouth.

"Uh... shhhh..." Delaney placed a hand on the child's chubby forearm and fell back instantly once the child wailed louder.

"Shit." She muttered.

She'd be in for a good one.

Casyn's hand reached from behind Delaney's kneeling form, from the bed, and settled itself on the kid's head. "_Como te llamas_?"

Delaney looked up at Casyn, who was lying on the bed with her arm outstretched and a sleepy complexion, confusion written all over her face. Casyn knew how to speak Spanish?

Casyn gave her a greasy smile.

The child seemed to calm down at the sound of Casyn's Spanish. He wearily wiped at his mouth and nose before hiccuping his response, "_Eduardo_."

"_Eduardo. Bonito._" Casyn ran a hand through the boys brown hair a few times before smacking Delaney's head.

The boy's head snapped up in attention and Delaney restrained a curse.

Casyn smacked her head again this time saying in a serious voice, "_Mala_."

Delaney knew enough Spanish to know that Casyn was telling the kid she was bad.

Delaney accepted it.

Casyn smacked her one more time and the boy giggled.

Delaney missed the roadhouse.

...

When Delaney had ascended the stairs down into the restaurant, she was extra careful not to slap any four year olds. She wondered what Bobby would say to that worry. Idjit wasn't too far off. He'd be right.

The reason not smacking children became a worry for Delaney was because once she entered the kitchen, there were plenty children. And all of them were smack-able.

They were all brown and running everywhere, climbing over tables, pulling at plastic coverings and table cloths, some shoving food into their mouths, others rubbing the beans into their hair. Delaney was no good at math but it looked like there were twenty of them between the ages of two and eleven.

It was like a midget asylum.

Delaney figured she might still be asleep.

This comforting thought was interrupted by Casyn walking back into the restaurant and catching sight of Delaney. "You! Come here."

Delaney slumped over and was about to inquire as to why there were children falling out of chairs and shouting when Casyn shoved a damp towel into her hand.

"What's this?" Delaney's eyebrows crinkled.

"A towelette. Now, you get that side of the room and I get this side." Casyn tip-toed past a pair of toddlers who were wrestling on the floor and snatched up one of the kids who was rubbing beans into his scalp. "_Ya."_ She dragged the damp towel against the child's face, to the child's dismay.

What were they? Babysitters?

Delaney stood in the middle of the restaurant for a few moments, nerves churning at the bottom of her stomach.

Kids.

Kids.

She hadn't dealt with a kid since... ever.

And she was afraid.

"_Ma_." Delaney felt a tug at her jeans and looked down. A boy, no older than two was pulling at her, a tortilla in his left hand, his face covered with red sauce.

It looked strikingly like blood. Vampire baby.

Delaney bent over and forced herself to pick the child up, taking the tortilla away. When the child gave a small shout Delaney quickly handed the tortilla back. Holding the child with one arm, she used the other one to clean around his mouth and his forehead. When the child head-butted her, Delaney nervously called, "Casyn!"

Casyn looked up from her sixth child and chuckled, "You look like you're about to throw up."

Delaney placed the kid down and pulled out an empty chair, "Go get the bucket," she muttered.

Delaney, once again, had no idea what was going on. A few days ago she had been a hunter, the daughter of a hunter. Now, she was a babysitter of Mexican kids.

She felt like she'd been shoved through a wormhole into an alternate dimension. It all felt dreamlike, eerie. Her normal wasn't taking care of kids or talking Spanish.

Did this count as culture shock?

Casyn pulled out a chair beside her and mumbled, "We have to do something, you know. Vic fed us, gave us a bed, let us look at Cruz's ass. Might as well take care of the kids."

Delaney's head snapped up and she almost choked on her saliva. She gave Casyn a look of "What the fuck?"

Casyn shrugged, trying to hide the smirk growing at the edges of her lips.

She dug in her pocket and handed Delaney a crumpled up paper. Delaney unfolded it and her stomach dropped.

_Gone out to get this week's ingredients. Take care of the kids. Be back in a couple of hours. Don't let your hunter break anything or I'll break her. _

When Casyn gave another shrug and mumbled, "They're family." all Delaney could do was run a hand through her hair and sigh.

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>HI!<strong>_

_**This is a short chapter but I feel we're pickin' up. A little. Maybe.**_

_**I feel like I'm starting to get back into the flow of writing and I'm actually excited and have ideas!:D**_

_**Anyway, hope you enjoy.**_

_**Things are about to get serious.**_

_**~Mar98**_


	24. A Whole New World: Victoria's Colorado

Chapter 24- A Whole New World

September 18, 2003

"I don't understand." Delaney muttered crumpling up the note so it was back in its original state and flung it across the room. She looked behind her, at the other tables and the square dance floor in the middle of the room. The youngest kids continued to rub beans into their hair with looks of slack-jawed joy. The oldest ones, five out of the seemingly twenty kids, were sitting in the middle of the wooden dance floor, Yu Gi Oh cards splayed out. They were arguing in Spanish looking about ready to wring each others' necks.

To more seasoned child carers the sight of children not biting at each other must be comforting, Delaney thought. But none of it was comforting or elicited mother-ly emotions in Delaney's traumatized and scarred hunter heart. The sight of young baby flesh and chubby forearms, the sound of baby laughs, all of it, elicited fear in that hunter heart.

Delaney turned back to Casyn ready to convey all of this but before she could spit anything out Casyn interrupted.

"Wendigos."

"You see the resemblance too?" Delaney was surprised; maybe her and Casyn _were _getting closer.

"What? No." Casyn shook her head and gave a sigh, placing a hand on Delaney's thigh. "That's not what I meant. Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think I am, but you look like you're terrified."

Delaney didn't nod but continued to watch as one boy pelted another with a half-eaten mango.

Where the heck had that come from?

"Delaney, you have got to be kidding me! They're babies. Harmless little babies! You've dealt with Wendigos, for macaroni's sake! Wendigos!"

Delaney didn't say this aloud but she was reminded of the changelings that had invaded a small southern town Bobby had had to exterminate. Delaney's left butt-cheek still ached on the random cold day.

It was ridiculous but it wasn't like the other areas of her life weren't laced with an overwhelming sense of ridiculousness.

Delaney shook her head and sighed. "Yeah, alright. They're babies. _Beautiful_ babies."

Casyn patted her on the cheek before getting up and picking up the thrown mango.

"It doesn't make sense anyway. Victoria and her son don't trust me, they say, but they let me take care of their kids. In what screwed-up world does that make sense?" Delaney got up and just as she was pulling pushing in her chair, a head popped up by her elbow.

Startled, she hopped in place. "_Si_?" She forced out.

The kid, about five, gave her a smile that was missing one of its kernels, before holding his hand out. The sucker looked a lot like Cruz and Delaney felt bad that it wouldn't help the kid get on her good side. If anything it would hinder it.

Maybe she wasn't that different from Victoria and her son; two could play the prejudiced game.

Delaney figured the kid wanted to shake her hand. Just before her hand touched his, he pulled it back. He held it out again and Delaney attempted to touch it again only to have the boy do the same thing.

Delaney flicked the child's nose softly.

He laughed and she couldn't help but smirk a little bit.

Not too shabby.

"Carlos!" Delaney looked behind her. One of the older kids, a girl, met her eyes. She looked around ten. She got up, handed her Yu Gi Oh cards to a boy sitting next to her and walked over to Delaney. She grabbed the boy who'd been fooling with Delaney by the arm and tried to lead him away.

Delaney decided to give it a try. The kids did live in Colorado, plus Victoria and Cruz spoke English.

"You don't speak English?"

The girl, who was wearing dangly gold earrings gave her a defiant look. "I do. I'm not stupid."

Delaney felt a little relieved. "Casyn! They speak English!" She shouted, looking from left to right. When her eyes caught sight of Casyn at the far end of the restaurant by the entrance, she shuddered. The boy who'd discarded the mango desperately wanted it back and Casyn didn't seem to want to comply. So, the boy was aiming to bite a chunk out of her skinny calve.

"She knows." The girl pulled at Carlos' jacket when he tried to reach for the salt-shaker on the table. She smacked the gum in her mouth before saying, "She just likes speaking Spanish, _la loca_."

"So, are you all Victoria's kids?" Delaney's nerves settled a little when she saw Casyn pick up the child who was trying to sample her and place him on the nearest table. She pulled out a wet wipe from a fanny pack Delaney had no recollection of Casyn having mentioned and proceeded to furiously wipe down the child's face.

The girl smiled a little bit. "How can we _all_ be Victoria's kids? She's ancient."

Carlos giggled.

"Really? I would say she's about 40."

The boy was slapping at Casyn's forearm in annoyance but she paid no heed. Delaney nodded almost imperceptibly. Treat 'em rough. The little boogers.

"She's 56." The girl, as if reading her mind, gave her head a shake before dragging the boy back across the room and dumping him with the other boys one of which was distributing cards with a look of extreme seriousness.

Delaney smiled.

But the smile faded when she saw the girl with dangly earrings approaching her again.

"Who are you again?"

Delaney was more than a little taken aback with how well-spoken and confident the girl sounded. Oh, Delaney knew kids weren't stupid and all but... it was all new to her, you see.

"Delaney. Mannings." Delaney paused, not sure what else to add. What else was she? She didn't think she could tell a ten-year-old she killed monsters on a daily basis though she was kind of sure that it would score points with them, considering they enthusiastically played a card game where they pitted monsters against each other.

"White girl name." The girl nodded knowingly and grabbed Delaney's arm, gesturing for her to sit down in the chair she'd just gotten up from.

Delaney's eyes narrowed a bit in confusion and her mouth opened but before she could say anything, the girl pulled out the chair beside hers and angled it so she was facing Delaney.

"I have white girl friends so don't worry. I'll treat you well. I can see you're confused. You're thinking, 'Why are there so many kids', 'Why does it matter if I'm white', 'Who is this girl'. I'll answer the last one first; I'm Guadalupe. I'm ten. Now, it matters that you're white because I can clearly see you're confused and frustrated. You're not doing a very good job at hiding it. It's ok. I've been to the mall. I felt the exact same way when I saw all you white people."

Delaney was disheartened to see that they were truly taking after their parents.

"It's not racist when its true, you know. Now, the reason why there are so many kids here is not because Victoria has birthed us all but because she offers to take care of us every Thursday."

"You know, I would appreciate it if you stopped talking to me as if I were stupid."

Guadalupe ignored her, "We all belong to her kids. She has six kids. And we're all_ their_ kids. That's not including uncle Eduardo and Emilio who died. Anyway, you have to take care of us for now. You and Casyn." As soon as Casyn heard her name, she turned to them from across the room with a bunch of toddlers hanging off of her. She smiled and Delaney nodded.

Delaney figured Guadalupe just liked talking.

"We're going camping later. Camping is w-."

"Guadalupe, I know. You're older than the other kids so why aren't you helping us out?"

Guadalupe raised an eyebrow and moved her straight brown hair out of her face. "I'm a kid."

"Then, since you're a kid, I'll just disregard everything you just said."

"Suit yourself. Hunter."

Delaney froze. "You know that?"

"I heard Grandma talking about it with Uncle Cruz. I don't know why she's so upset about you hunting bears and stuff. It's not like they don't hunt for snakes to eat."

Delaney's stomach churned a little at the thought of snakes for dinner but another thought had struck her mind. How many of these kids were Cruz's?

When Delaney asked, Guadalupe, playing with the tips of her hair, muttered, "Uncle Cruz doesn't have any kids."

"How old is he?"

"I don't know. Old. Why do you care?"

"No reason. Go play with your brothers... your cousins... the other kids." Delaney stood up and when Guadalupe didn't seem to want to abandon her comfortable chair, lifted her up by the arm as well.

"Wait." Guadalupe stood firm, shook Delaney's hand off, and looked Delaney in the eye in the most disconcerting way a child had ever looked at her. A human child, anyway. "Why don't they like you hunting? What do you hunt?"

Delaney shrugged paying close attention to Guadalupe's squinted eyes. "Monsters." Best to keep eye contact at all costs.

"Yeah, okay." Guadalupe muttered, not even pausing to think or flinch or ponder if what Delaney had said was true. Kids always thought you were fooling them. "What do you _really_ hunt?"

"Monsters." Delaney responded in a higher tone, her arms crossed, nodding her head. "I'm not lying. I hunt vampires, demons, witches, all the like. Sometimes..." Delaney leaned forward, speaking a lot more quietly, "I hunt children who get possessed by demons. Children who are monsters. You'd think monsters wouldn't go after kids since they're not very strong or any of that good stuff. But, surprisingly, they're the main target."

Guadalupe didn't look the least bit scared, her eyes blinking in a lazy disinterested sort of way. With her hand she pushed the hair in her face back and sighed. "I have six uncles, Delaney Mannings. Do you know what living with men is like?"

Delaney went silent, thinking about it.

"It's like living with monsters." Guadalupe answered with a little nod, attitude saturating her small frame. "So... you don't scare me. I'll be going."

As Guadalupe walked away, back to continue her game of Yu Gi Oh, Delaney couldn't hide the fact that she was getting annoyed. How old was the kid anyway, talking like a damn grown up?

When Delaney heard Casyn giggling she knew she'd seen the whole thing. Delaney told her self she could care less.

...

5:00 PM

Delaney, sitting in one of the rocking chairs conveniently placed on the restaurant porch, closed her eyes for a long-awaited nap in the Colorado heat. The last five hours were a blur to her and that was ok. A lot of her hunts were a blur and she'd accepted it as a way for her brain to shield her from the horrible-ness of trauma.

Amen.

But just as she felt the sweetness in between living and sleeping, as she felt herself dangling in that state of "I'm falling asleep and this feels better than actually being asleep", she heard the dramatic growls of an engine quickly approaching the restaurant.

When she saw her beautiful Chevelle, she could only hope her eyes were blurry or that she was dreaming. But when dust came up from the sides of the Chevelle, basking it in a dazzling show of dust she sat up.

Only one car looked that good in dirt. Only one Chevelle was that... sexy?

Her... car?

What in the...

There was only one simple explanation.

They'd jacked it, the motherfuckers.

She didn't pause to think about them having brought it back. Which, she'd later realize while she pondered Cruz (secretly), was sort of important. Stealing or "jacking" entailed never returning said stolen item.

But she didn't give a shit. She was sleepy and angry.

Delaney bolted out of the rocking chair and ran down the porch steps, her bare feet making quick dry thuds against the wooden steps. The desert ground was hot and she'd never hated anything more in her life than the feel of dirt against her feet. She could be covered in grime, her face masked in sewer waste, her hair tangled with disgusting unknowns but if her feet were dirty... everyone knew she'd be borrowing someone's safety emergency shower.

Oh, she'd known coming to this place had been a bad idea. She hadn't exactly happily bounded out of "Victoria's" the first time. She'd been forced to deal with kids, dirty her feet, and find her car coming back to her with someone else's butt on her seat all in one nauseating day.

Delaney wasn't too peachy.

She tried her best to ignore her dirty feet as she jogged out into the cleared desert lot in front of the restaurant that was it's only parking space. She raised a hand over her eyes in order to block the sun and to get a view of who was in her car. She nodded angrily when she saw who it was.

The Chevelle didn't slow down as it neared her but seemed to remain steadily fast until it braked in front of her 5 feet away diagonally, and Cruz stepped out of it. He gave her one look, slammed the car door shut, and threw her keys at her.

Delaney snatched them halfway through the air, chest rising and falling angrily.

Cruz stared at her with the same disinterested lazy look as his niece Guadalupe had.

Fuck them all.

"You..." Delaney muttered, struggling to round-up any of the words always wandering around in her head any time Cruz or Victoria or their offspring spoke to her. Unsurprisingly, they were as offensive, evasive, and annoying as the Ortegons.

Cruz waited, his bare arms crossed in front of him. Delaney should have taken the car grease at the front of his shirt as a clue to what he'd been doing. But hey, the girl was angry at having her personal space violated.

"What makes you think..." Delaney took a couple of steps towards him. "That you could just _hop_ in _my _car and drive away in it for a couple of hours?!"

Cruz didn't even flinch as the sentence matured into yelling.

"I mean, who _does_ that? Yeah, I'm staying in your house and I'm grateful, bro, I am but your family _has_ to stop this weird-ass shit you're doing!" Delaney pointed at her car and then at Cruz.

He smirked.

Delaney sighed, a moment of reason slipping through the tightly bound veil of anger hanging in her brain and breathed in as deep as she could. She had to stop yelling at people and letting everything get to her.

But it was her _car_.

"I'm sorry they killed your brothers." Delaney cautiously paused when Cruz's smirk disappeared. Uh oh. She continued anyway. "But just because that happened doesn't mean you can treat me this way. I haven't broken any of your things, any of your kids, stolen anything, said anything remotely o-."

"I took it to my shop, princess. Your engine was about to fail." Cruz interrupted and followed that with a scoff when Delaney's face unscrewed and she looked confusedly from left to right.

What?

"I know, it's hard to believe I have some decency in me." Cruz waved his hands a little, rolling his eyes. All too quickly, his face became serious again. "I figured we'd settled shit with yesterday's talk. Some of it, at least. Just thank me and don't talk to me again."

He walked past her and a few seconds later, as she tried to think up anything to say, into the restaurant.

The door slammed closed and Delaney was left wondering what had just happened.

...

"I paid him." Casyn shrugged stabbing the moist-looking flan in front of her.

Delaney knew it. The bastard had been bribed into being nice to her.

The fork didn't go in as easily as Delaney, who was watching it longily, had guessed it would. But it had gone in easy enough and destroyed the beautiful whole-ness of that flan. Like anger had destroyed her beautiful resolution to be less of an angry sad chick. She gathered herself and erased the longing from her eyes.

Where was the stead-fast prejudice that she'd seen in movies? Where the one victimized was so consumed by hate that he wouldn't so much as _look _at anyone who was like the oppressor or the enemy or the one-who harmed?

For someone who had seemed so angry, Cruz sold out easily and quickly.

And Delaney, who was trying to be less judge-y, less angry, less sad was hating Cruz more. He had made it so easy for her to hate him when she wasn't supposed to. So she hated him for it.

Things were also getting confusing real quick.

Delaney, sitting beside Casyn, ignored her hand and it's flan-ness. "How much?"

"30 bucks." Delaney looked her over, wondering where she'd stashed those thirty bucks. And... where had she even gotten them?

"Why did he say I had to thank him?" Finally realizing that the room was unusually quiet looked around and noticed for the first time since entering that the restaurant was clean and all the kids gone. Upstairs? Asleep?

"It's all part of the game, baby."

"Whatever, Casyn." Delaney sighed, slumping forward in her chair, placing her elbow on the bright table in front of her, and letting her chin rest in her hand.

"Where is home, exactly?" Casyn asked this in a seemingly disinterrested way, her attention focused solely on the sweet wonderland hanging off of her fork and docking repeatedly in her mouth.

"Anywhere but here."

"Home is where your stomach is full bitch." With that, she shoved the flan at Delaney. Delaney was too tired to refuse the food of the enemy. Her resolve could waver when food was involved. As she licked the fork, she admitted, maybe Cruz hadn't been such a wimp for accepting the money.

Or maybe it was the food attacking her anger probes. She hardly cared at the moment.

"So, you shouted at him because he fixed your car?" Casyn's face had become serious now that she wasn't eating. She pulled at her t-shirt, her face showing how uncomfortable she felt. When her tag peeped up at her from her hidden cleavage, she knew why.

"Yeah. My bad. I'll apologize. You could have at least told me he was going to be taking my car. You're equally at fault." Delaney finished off the plate stopping herself from licking the syrup left on it as a reminder of what had been and when she saw that Casyn was opening her mouth to say something, quickly added "Where are the kids?"

Casyn looked around, eyeing the empty tables before stiffening. She turned to Delaney hurriedly, panic etched on her face. "I've lost them!"

Delaney's first thought was that of Cruz and Victoria roasting her alive, like the snakes she imagined they eat. She was already out of her seat and halfway past the room, fueled by her self-preservation instinct, when Casyn called out sneakily, "They're asleep upstairs, Cuz."

An empty tortilla-holder the color of blood hit Casyn squarely in the chest.

...

5 hours earlier

"_Los dejastes con la huera_?"

"_Aunque not te guste_."

"She's a hunter."

"She's not dangerous."

"She's a _hunter_."

"When have my vibes been wrong?"

Cruz didn't mention the deaths of his brothers.

Victoria's eyes flicked a little in his direction, as if aware of the direction his thoughts were straying to.

"_Mira_, we don't like her but Casyn does and she's an extra pair of hands. Plus, I doubt she'd try anything. She's afraid of us and she'll stay that way."

Cruz crossed his arms and restrained a sigh. He watched as his mother prepared an array of fruits for the kids to eat while they were gone. On one of the 4 old-fashioned stoves that were put to use in his mother's magical kitchen, sat a large pot in which something was steaming. It smelled like only one kind of meat could and his stomach growled a little.

His mother heard it and threw him a mango, which he caught. "The menudo isn't for you. Casyn knows it'll distract the kids if they get rowdy." She was bent over a wooden cutting board, her hand holding two strawberries as the other one cut into them with a knife. The red juice moistened her long brown fingers. He looked up at her face to see a look of utter concentration. She'd cooked for years, for such a large family. You'd think she'd be sick of it. But Cruz knew she always went back to cooking when she was having trouble dealing with stuff. Like when she'd cooked nonstop the week after his brothers had been murdered.

She looked fine, though. A lot more at peace. She loved the kids and didn't seem to be thinking twice about the hunter taking care of them. His mother was moving on.

"Why you going to Chita's?"

"I need more _hierbas. _Eugenio just came back from Brazil with some of the ones I've been needing. His ma is sick so I'm going over to see what I can do. I won't be back until the day after tomorrow. The menudo won't last until then and Fernando isn't coming for his kids until then. So, we're gonna have to keep most of the kids here for longer then usual." Victoria finished chopping at the fruit and went towards the sink to wash her hands. A hair loosened itself from her long braid and Cruz went forward to put it back into place. She turned to him abruptly and when he saw her smirk, he was confused.

"The hunter girl needs to stay scared. Take her snake hunting tonight."

"She's a hunter. I don't think she'll be scared."

Victoria gave a small amused shrug.

...

Present time

7:00 PM

Cruz's face said everything. Though he'd fixed Delaney's now-sweet-ride he still didn't like the hunter.

She was too pale, too dumb, and too stuck-up.

Plus, the way the blood had drained from her face when he'd told her they had to go out and catch some snakes for dinner hadn't done any help to her image.

For a girl who claimed to kill monsters she sure was a pussy.

"The best times to catch snakes is at night."

Delaney watched as Cruz put on working boots. Delaney knew those had steel at the toes and were made of strong leather.

She looked down at her converse and frowned.

When she looked back up she caught Cruz smirking at her shoes. He reached behind him, leaning his body to the side as if pulling something out from under him. He threw it at her and Delaney was confused.

Cardboard? His eyes twinkled. Delaney felt like throwing up.

She looked up from the tough brown material in her hands and weighed the darkness peering in from the numerous restaurant windows.

Snakes, bugs, lizards, Crazy Mexican. All out in almost pitch darkness.

Cardboard?

No.

"Yeah, I'm not going."

"For someone who claims to kill monsters, you sure got no balls."

Delaney watched as Cruz leaned behind the small sofa he had been sitting on and pulled out a brown sack and a machete.

Delaney's hands twitched for it. But not to kill snakes.

Cruz stood up, the machete in one hand and the sack in the other. He'd never looked so happy. Delaney wondered what he was imagining when he looked at that machete.

"Let's go catch some dinner."


	25. Catching It: Victoria's Colorado

Chapter 25- Catching it

September 18, 2003

"You... don't have a hook or none of that, do you?" Delaney, who was behind Cruz, looked back at the restaurant they were walking away from. She felt a strong attachment to the light radiating from it. It was like the only lighthouse in the middle of a sea of dirt and darkness because, well, it was. Because though the desert hosted unbearable heat during the day, at night it was invaded by a solemn and stifling cold.

Delaney understood that now and regretted not wearing her thicker and therefore warmer sweatshirt. And her boots; the cardboard Cruz had made her tape under her pants and to her calves/ankles was itchy and a corner of it was cutting into the back of her left knee. It also made it harder for her to walk and she had the growing suspicion that as the cardboard caused her to feel more and more uncomfortable, she was walking more and more like the tin-man from The Wizard of Oz.

Cruz, as always, was ignoring her hisses of discomfort and continued walking, Delaney's shadow floating in the distance between her feet and his. His arms were bare as he was only in a white undershirt and blue jeans. Delaney couldn't help but roll her eyes because, as she mentally scoffed, he was totally faking that he wasn't cold.

As they walked further and further away from _Victoria's_ things began to get a little harder to see and Delaney felt a small sense of panic.

She was a hunter. Everyone knew that. But because she was one people assumed that monsters and darkness no longer scared her. The truth wasn't as pretty as that, in all actuality. Delaney couldn't sleep right if she didn't have a knife under her pillow. She couldn't sleep without lining the door of her motel room as well as the windows with a line of rock salt. And she couldn't be in peace in a place that was completely dark.

There was only darkness where Cruz and her were heading.

"You're planning on catching a snake with a machete? By chopping it in half?"

Cruz paid her no attention but continued to walk as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.

"Don't you need those hook-looking thingies?" Delaney muttered quietly before her foot hit a rock and she stumbled forward a little bit. Maybe she should be looking down more, she thought. She'd been avoiding it for fear of any snakes or bugs.

So, as Delaney tried walking forward more confidently and with her head facing downward in search of her courage, Cruz froze and Delaney, not knowing, bumped into him from behind. The top of her head hit his mid-back and she let out an "uummph" sound.

He turned around abruptly and Delaney stumbled back. She couldn't see much anymore but his faint outline. She squinted and he seemed to have the machete raised.

"Sorry." She said instinctively, watching him carefully. "Just a little...uh..."

She heard him sigh and by squinting her eyes she saw his outline move slightly. He'd lowered it. "Scared. And clueless. You're making more noise than an elephant."

He turned around again and seemed to begin walking once more when abruptly, his outline froze.

Delaney tried suppressing the sound of her breathing, knowing he'd heard something.

They remained impossibly still for what felt like five minutes but must have been only twenty seconds. She was about to say that maybe it had just been the wind when he suddenly moved, reaching for the ground. She jumped back and moved to her left, in the opposite direction from where he'd lunged.

He was coming back up when she thought she saw something slip from in between his hands and he lunged again to his left.

Delaney felt like screaming and wished she could levitate. There were snakes but who knew where they could be.

She watched as Cruz remained bent over, arms reaching into a bush of dry bush, pushing it apart. When his arms became more stiff Delaney knew he had caught it.

"Get the sack."

Delaney had heard him of course. And no matter what Cruz said later, she_ had_ tried to move her legs and look for that damn sack. But could you really blame her? She'd never had to deal with wild animals before. She'd killed a demon and almost died. She'd sent a ghost flying. But animals. They weren't evil; they were nasty and unfamiliar.

"Didn't you hear me? Get the stupid sack."

Delaney could hear the struggle in his voice so perhaps that was what snapped her out of her thoughts. But once that obstacle had been overcome, the darkness become the next one.

She couldn't see.

"Where'd you drop it?"

That seemed to piss off Cruz so instead of telling her where it was, he suddenly walked towards her and deposited the snake in her hands.

She panicked. But she didn't let go, surprisingly. It felt smooth and long in her hands, cold. Instinctively, her left hand found its oval cleft head and circled the scaly flesh underneath it. Her other hand gripped it halfway through its rope-like body. It was writhing and hissing so a little spooked, Delaney had no other choice but to call for Cruz.

There was no sound and Delaney couldn't see him. He'd disappeared in the darkness. Oh how she hated him, thinking he'd abandoned her.

But all too soon, she saw his shape approaching and when he reached her, his hands circled the snake a little below where hers had been, took the snake from her, and dropped it in the sack. He swung it over his shoulder with a whoosh and continued on like nothing had happened.

Delaney stepped back from his forward-moving figure, her hands seeming like foreign objects to her. She thought she could still feel the unfamiliar unnatural coldness of the snake skin as she raised them up in front of her, attempting to look at her hands in the darkness. She'd held a snake and she felt things were changing again.

"I... held it." She muttered, willing her feet to move. They did, clumsily.

Cruz gave a chuckle, cold air flowing into the air like cigarette smoke and Delaney thought she could hear the sarcasm in it. "Good job, princess."

His words snapped her out of her state of disbelief; had he just called her princess? Is that what he thought she was? Is that what he thought she thought of herself?

The dry ground crunched underneath her converse and she debated going off on him. But she remembered all her times with Casyn and how going off on her hadn't really helped anything. It had just made everything all the more complicated.

Delaney braced herself, readjusting her loose pants. She'd just have to catch some snakes.

She'd already held one after all.

...

Cruz thought she was trying to joke in her non-cute non-funny way when he suddenly felt her stop and rummage at the dry shrubs to their right. The hunter had just been scared minutes before.

But, sure enough, she gave a whoop of excitement and came up with her hands full of snake.

"Come here." He could hear the smugness in her voice. He reluctantly neared her and opened a small hole in the sack. She dropped the snake in and he turned away, holding it shut.

The stars and the moon were the only sources of light. She'd tripped over just a minute ago because of how dark it was. Now she'd caught a snake?

Victoria would be disappointed to realize that the hunter had adapted.

"I don't even know how the hec-" The hunter began to say before cutting herself short and lunging for the ground again. She was breathing hard and he felt like it was more due to excitement than physical exertion.

She rushed towards him, her feet creating dull thuds against the dry ground. He took a step back from her and handed her the sack.

Had she been pretending?

Before he could ask she ran off somewhere else, not even bothering to hand the sack back to him.

Cruz could not say he was starting to like the hunter. She seemed like a ridiculous person. But now that she had "conquered" her fear of snakes, he somehow felt a little speck of dust crumbling off of the wall of dislike for her that he had.

"Cruz!"

But her white-girl accent... she was still annoying.

...

Delaney had been so focused on finding the next snake that when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, she didn't notice it until it had stopped. She quickly pulled it out and flipped it open, forgetting how light blinds after a while in the darkness. She squinted unpleasantly and tried to figure out the name of her missed caller.

She froze and she felt like her mind went blank when she read Dean on the screen. And all too quickly she realized that she hadn't thought of the Winchester brothers for a whole day. She thought that made her sound like she'd been obsessing with them before but... it was not like she could deny the fact that she'd worried about them almost constantly when she was not with them.

What was Casyn doing to her?

A strong hand pulled her back roughly and a shout built up in her throat but before she let it completely out, she heard the hiss of a snake and heard the soft thud it made when it hit the ground she had just been standing on.

She bewilderingly turned to Cruz and then to his hand that had moved to her right wrist. The light from the cell phone illuminated his smooth brown face and she saw him squint, trying to figure out what she'd been doing on her phone she supposed. She slipped her wrist out of his hand and quickly began walking in the direction of the far-off restaurant.

He didn't say anything for a while but just followed as she found her way.

Her heart thumping with panic or adrenaline or even worry she wondered why Dean would be calling her? Was there an emergency?

"That's why cellphones are dangerous"

Delaney almost laughed,"And snakes aren't? But isn't that why you brought me out here anyway? To give me a sense of danger?" She flashed the light of the cellphone on the ground in front of her like a flashlight.

"Ma told me to bring you out here to scare you not to kill you."

Delaney couldn't say she was surprised. Victoria was seeming more and more like a lunatic. But she'd shown her, hadn't she? "Yeah, yeah. I know I'm not liked. I get it. But you ain't gonna see me cryin' over it."

"Either way, good job."

At that, Delaney slowed down a bit. What was he saying?

"You caught a lot of snakes."

"Three."

"Yeah."

They went quiet for a while, the awkwardness filling the cold desert air.

Was Cruz trying to be nice to her?

Before she could ask him, they reached the porch of the restaurant and Delaney didn't waste a moment before knocking on the door when jiggling the door knob amounted to nothing. No one answered so she turned to Cruz with her hand out.

He gave her a look of confusion when she gave her hand a little expectant shake.

"The keys." She muttered, lifting her eyebrows impatiently.

Cruz crossed his arms as he simultaneously grinned. "No keys, hunter. Guess we'll have to wait until someone wakes up."

Delaney would've cussed under her breath if a brilliant idea hadn't struck her. "We can climb in through the window."

Cruz didn't answer but was already moving to sit in one of the chairs on the porch, his tall frame moving slowly and his face playing on a small smirk.

Delaney spun around to face the restaurant and her stomach dropped in disappointment when she saw why he was smirking. The windows the place had were sealed tight and reinforced. She turned back to Cruz and watched him with a look of annoyance as he made himself comfortable in the same chair she had made herself comfortable in a few hours before

"Alright, Cruz. Lay down to rest." Delaney thought of something and let the sack of snakes rest in front of her. Goosebumps ran up her arms as a cool breeze reached her and she looked out into the part of the desert they had come from. What would happen if she just let the poor snakes go? She didn't think snake sandwiches would be all that pleasing to her digestive system. Cruz wasn't very pleasing to her digestive system.

She smiled at that one and just when she was about to kick the untied sack over she heard Cruz spring up from the chair, stretching his long arm out in an instant and snatching the sack away.

Delaney didn't bother reacting as he sat down with it again but chose to sit on one of the porch steps. She pulled out her phone, feeling Cruz's dislike all the way from the damn chair he was sitting in.

"You got brothers don't you?"

Delaney stared at the phone's background, one of those stupid sample pictures that came with the cheap-ass phone. Hers was a waterfall. She stared at it, trying to tune Cruz out. Guess he grew more talkative after snatching away people's happiness.

"Casyn told me about how you're always whining that they left you."

Delaney tried wondering about the photographer who took the waterfall picture but Cruz's words were gradually pissing her off.

"Alright, alright", she heard him yawn and the chair squeak as he leaned back on it. "Family is off limits."

Delaney quickly turned around and Cruz peeked down at her figure, looking like he was hoping she was irritated. Because of that, Delaney made sure she kept an expressionless face.

"Where are _your_ kids?" She asked, staring him straight in the eye.

"They're dead."

Delaney, who had been trying to get back at him, felt her heart sinking with shame and horror. That was what she got for being so darn vindictive all the time. She'd brought up some dude's dead kids and the thug would start crying any minute. She'd had been proud any other time but now she just felt dirty.

Cruz, watching her eyebrows bend in with guilt and her eyes soften, let a smile spread across his face.

When Delaney noticed this she rolled her eyes, "Fuck you." But she was surprised that the dude could joke. Even if it was a sick joke.

Cruz slowly sat up, pulling something out of his pocket. A few seconds later he brought his hand up to his mouth and she saw a cigarette poke out from it. She watched as he released the first breath of smoke and she tried calculating how many years that would leave him to harass other people. Not very many.

"So you kill monsters." He said it more as a statement than a question and Delaney figured he thought he had her figured out. He could think what he liked, she told herself.

"Boogey-men, chupacabras, vampires. Witches. Any Mexicans?"

"You'd be the first". She muttered, turning back to the desert and away from him. She guessed racial discussions and tags were part of the place's dynamic. She hardly cared for it.

"What does your family think about you doing this? How old are you anyway? Eighteen?"

Delaney smiled, leaning back on her hands and feeling the porch's dirt under her hands. "Twenty-one. And they could care less."

"No wonder you're a bitch."

Delaney wrinkled her nose at the itchy feeling the cigarette smoke gave her nose. It smelled weirder than the ones Casyn smoked on and off. "Not being a bitch isn't my goal in life. Should be yours."

"Right. Your goal in life is killing."

"Damn straight."

"Hey, we do have something in common. 'Cept mine is killing bad bitches like you."

Delaney didn't even respond to that one but when she heard Cruz get up and near her she peeked at her converse, making sure the ever-present knife was there.

All Cruz did was sit down next to her, stretching out his long legs next to hers.

"You're a bad bitch, right?" His face was pointed towards her and she slowly turned to look him in the eye, confused about where all of his stupid words were coming from. She ran her eyes over his face, not even blinking when he exhaled a stream of smoke into her face. She realized he wasn't smoking a cigarette but a joint. His eyes already looked hazy and slightly red, the tip of the joint pointed towards the night sky as he leaned backwards and titled his head up

She looked away from him, shaking her head in disbelief. Pot, of all things.

"How many people you killed?"

"None." She responded curtly, sick of talking. "I kill monsters."

"Oh, come on. Bad bitches don't just kill ghosts. They kill people too." He rolled his head in her direction and she felt his hot breath on her arm. She grimaced disgustedly and scooted over.

"You got it wrong." She responded with a trace of hostility.

"Last time I heard, demons invade people. Isn't that right, hunter?" His voice sounded so cold and calculated, as if it were determinedly striving to find her buttons in order to push them repeatedly. To hurt her.

But Delaney hadn't been accumulating years and years of emotional repression and personal trauma for nothing; she could handle his petty attacks.

"Sure. But there are ways to get it out of them without murdering."

When her phone rang in her pocket, Delaney reached for it, happy thinking it would shut Cruz up. She put it to her ear and waited for the person on the other end to start talking.

"Laney?"

It was Dean and she felt she couldn't take talking to two idiots at one time. "Yeah? Something wrong?"

"No... just calling to see how you're doing."

Delaney was confused. Throughout her whole life, the whole time she had known Dean Winchester, he had never called her for that particular reason. To ask how she was doing. To demand a couple of beers, a burger, some x-rated magazine, sure. She was familiar with that.

"Uh... Fine." Delaney tried to find a way to fill the awkward silence that she felt threatening to take over her phone call but the more she tried to come up with something else to say, the more her mind went blank.

Dean seemed to be experiencing the same predicament.

So as Delaney's mind scrounged through scraps of empty random facts and ill-conceived, ethereally thin thoughts and came up fruitless, it decided to engage it's auto-mode function; she spit out the first thing it came up with, "Are you drunk?"

She regretted it as soon as she asked it.

When her sharp eyes caught a smirk spread on Cruz's face through their peripheral vision, she was reminded he was there. She felt a need to seek privacy but where could she go? No one was opening the damn door and there was no way in hell she was going back into the damn desert, now matter how fun the snake-catching had been.

"No. Do I... seem... drunk? Don't answer that question." He sighed and Delaney tried deciphering what he meant. "I had a... Gatorade?"

"Why are you making everything a question? Are you confused?" By that point, Delaney had given up on her brain. It was clear it had a mind of its own.

"I would say the poor bastard is, considering he took time out of his day to call a bad bitch like you." Cruz muttered, proceeding to blow more pot smoke at her.

She gritted her teeth, wishing with all her heart she could land one on his stupid face but before she could retort at him, Dean asked who he was.

"Nobody. Just some low-life I'm being forced to cohabit with as a result of Casyn's strong affiliations with a Mexican gang."

"Wow. She's a... keeper. But I'm not all that surprised."

"You really think so? You can keep her. I'll box her up and ship her to you in express." She responded a little angrily and was a little surprised when Dean chuckled.

"So I guess everything's better between you too. No more angry whining about the fact that you've found a cousin?"

"Eh. Some days are better than others. Have you talked to Bobby? Has he told you anything about any hunts he's got for me?"

"None. He said you need a break."

"_He_ needs a beak."

"We all need a break. You headed straight over to Sancho's lair after you left my place?"

"Your place? A shitty motel room is your place now?"

"Hasn't it always been?"

"Guess so. No. I ran into Casyn again, as you know. Begged me to bring her here, to the fucking lion's den." At that, Delaney looked over at Cruz who had gone quiet. She was hoping he'd passed out but he was only looking up at the night sky. He seemed to have not heard what she'd said. She continued, "I brought her thinking we'd only stopped by at some random joint for some grub but it turns out she considers the people here family and that they hate hunters and are endlessly plotting ways to get rid of me. I left her the first time after we fought but then Bobby got all serious with me and now I'm here again."

"Some life you're living."

"The only kind worth living." Delaney cleared her throat, debating whether she should mention meeting up with Sam. She decided to spit it out before she could take it back. " I saw Sam. At Stanford... before I came here again."

Dean went silent for what felt like forever and Delaney worried that the joint's fumes were messing with her head.

When she thought he had hung up, she decided mentioning one more thing couldn't hurt. "My father is dead. I found him. In my old backyard."

When Dean still didn't say anything and the phone still hadn't played its one loud dead note of defeat, she added "Things are better. Sort of. I mean, we're all away from each other but old issues are clearing up and I feel ca-"

"Is he happy?"

Dean's one track mind at its finest. Delaney heard herself swallow loudly and her stomach felt light and heavy all at once.

"Yeah."

She didn't remember how they hung up but Dean's tone of voice stuck with her, lingered in her mind and on her skin. Mentioning Sam was like putting Dean's mind on auto-mode, on instinctual-zone. Nothing before or after Sam. Nothing but Sam.

She must have looked extremely bummed out, even in that nighttime darkness because Cruz slowly tried handing her the joint.

She slowly turned to him and their eyes met.

She smacked the joint out of his hand.

...

3:00 A.M.

Cruz was no longer high and that meant he was back to being quiet.

Now he was smoking nicotine cigarettes. They were still on the porch steps and Delaney was cursing herself for not having removed the cardboard from her legs earlier.

"Isn't your mom all about health?" She grunted as she struggled to untie the string holding the cardboard together.

Cruz, not looking at her, " And?"  
>"AND you're smoking, that's what."<p>

"Are you worrying about me now?"

Delaney looked over at him, finally able to untangle the string and watched him as he smoked his cigarette. She waited until he turned to her with an eyebrow raised and then threw the pieces of cardboard at him. He didn't react as they fell off him.

It wasn't that Delaney was worried about his health, really. She was embarrassed she had to reassure herself, even. It was just that the more she hung out with the cholo, the more she was finding it easier to say stuff. And she figured that rubbing his contradictions to his mother's values in his face might annoy him and she was all for annoying him and getting him away from her.

"I don't worry about you anymore than I worry about myself."

Delaney wasn't entirely sure what she was saying anymore. It was three in the morning and she was tired and just wanted to be back in her bed at Bobby's place.

"Who was that?"

Delaney answered without pause, "My brother."

"Is Sam his girlfriend or what?"

Delaney smirked as she cleaned dirt off her shoes. The dirt around the place was invasive and ever-present. Had Delaney mentioned she hated dirt?

"He's my other brother. They're the ones Casyn told you about...the ones that abandoned me and that I'm always whining about."

"Sounded like you hadn't talked to him in a while."

"Well, they _did_ abandon me."

"Pretty shitty. The whole abandoning you thing. I mean, I can see why they'd want to abandon someone like you but... pretty inhumane. They must be hunters."

Delaney turned to him, watching as the trails of smoke left the end of his cigarette and levitated up into the night sky, fading calmly and slowly into the distance as they became more and more invisible. She centered her eyes on his face and it must have been the perfect lunar position because she could see smooth scars along the right side of his jaw, scars that were lighter than his tan skin and that were at the point of almost fading. They were at the meeting of his jaw and neck. She hadn't seen them during the day. She was about to ask him how he'd gotten them when he abruptly turned to her and she met his eyes.

"Are they?"

For a moment, Delaney couldn't remember what they'd been talking about. He was looking at her with the same cold stare he always had, disinterested. But then why did he keep asking so many questions?

"You're creepy. Your eyes are exactly like a monster's. Expression-less. Emotion-less." She turned away from him and stood up, approaching the door to knock on it again. After a few seconds of waiting, she cursed Casyn's habit of sleeping like the dead.

She was surprised when she heard Cruz chuckle behind her.

"What's so funny?" She asked, but didn't approach him again.

"You have a knack for avoiding questions you don't like."

"You're not much better."

"I've answered all your questions so far."

"Alright, then. Why do you have those scars?"

"Which ones?"

"The ones on your neck."

"I tried to kill myself."

Delaney just rolled her eyes and knocked on the door again.

"I see you also have a knack for believing things as long as they're comforting."

"You know, for a gangster who doesn't talk much, when you do, you don't sound as stupid as I thought you would. Why is that?" Delaney wasn't really expecting an answer to that question as it was meant to be more of an insult than anything else.

"Maybe you're just stupid too."

Delaney gave up on the door when she didn't hear any sound from the inside, no sign of consciousness. She sat in the porch chair and arranged herself so as to sleep comfortably. She was small enough to fit it nicely. She closed her eyes and realized that the night air wasn't as bad as she thought it was. It smelled fresh and lighter than the one in any of the cities she'd stayed at.

She was still sort of scared of snakes but she wasn't finding the desert all that intimidating anymore.

When she began to drift off into sleep, she heard Cruz stand up against the squeak of the porch steps and his footsteps sounded nearer and nearer to her. She ignored him, thinking that if he thought she was asleep he'd leave her alone.

When she heard him stop right in front of her, she maintained her facade.

She felt the end of his rough fingers touch her abdomen and she reacted instinctively, punching him in the nose.

He stumbled backwards, a smirk on his face.

Delaney was a little surprised that he'd tried to touch her but she didn't feel like shouting at him or getting angry. All he had to do was keep trying to touch her and she'd keep hitting him.

He could do the same thing to her if she ever tried to touch him.

She rearranged herself again, facing away from him.

"For someone who hates hunters so much, you don't seem to hate their bodies all that much."

"Who did that to you?"

Delaney opened her eyes at that and looked up at him.

"What?"

"That. The scar you have on your stomach."

Delaney looked down at her abdomen, where her top had slid up and revealed the pale shiny scars.

She swallowed, remembering despite all of her hard mental work to forget that shape-shifter or to bury memories of it so deep that it would be impossible for them to resurface ever again, all of the scars, mental and physical, she had acquired as a result of that run in with the shape-shifter.

She pulled her sweatshirt down and told her lie as sarcastically and annoyingly as possible ,"I tried to kill myself."

Cruz responded seriously, "I wasn't lying."

"Whatever. Leave me alone." Delaney turned away from him again and tried to keep her temper reigned in when she didn't hear him walk away from her.

"When my brothers died, I wanted to die too. So I tried slitting my throat but Casyn found me. I owe Casyn my life and a lot more. So, love her too if you're able." He added the last sentence like an afterthought, as a statement he'd thought about saying but had never really thought he would say.

Delaney caught herself before she rolled her eyes angrily. Was he serious? He sounded serious.

She turned to him again, staring up at him in the decent light the porch offered. She tried to think of something to say, she felt compelled to express how Casyn wasn't as annoying as she had been or how Delaney was liking her more and more everyday but she didn't get why it was any of his business.

"Cruz..." She sighed and it was like she felt wrinkles of exhaustion appear under her eyes, around her mouth, and on her forehead. POOF and they were there. "Please just let me take a nap.

"Do you have nightmares?"

Maybe it was because his sentence sounded so dark and heavy but she finally noticed how deep his voice was.

"Yeah." She answered quietly.

"You have anymore scars?"

She smirked, "You, gangsta, have no idea."

"What kind of hunts you been on?"

"I've met with demons twice, a couple of witches, a heck of a lot of ghosts."

"Satan?"

Delaney laughed and when she saw his serious face she laughed even harder.

"No. No Satan."

"Show me."

She raised an eyebrow, "Satan?"

"Your scars."

Delaney watched him for a few seconds, quietly and seriously.

But for some reason, she lifted her shirt to show him her lower abdomen. The scars from the shapeshifter were thick and they still ached sometimes.

She watched his eyes move over them and when he looked up at her face, she turned and showed him the recently-made scar from the ghost who'd stabbed her with the letter opener.

She had more but she'd have to take off her pants and her sweatshirt.

When she felt his hand on her lower back, she stiffened and pushed past him to get out of the chair.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Looks relatively fresh. We have som-"

"Fuck you." She retorted and flew down the porch steps. When she came to her car, she settled in the long front seat and locked the doors.

Delaney had run because something inside of her had fluttered.

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>So, I am at it again. Trying my best to move out of this writer's block.<strong>_

_**Thanks in advance to whoever reads this! Much love!**_

_**-mar98**_


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